Like the Salt of the Earth
by LoriHuCalmia
Summary: I have two words for you  and they aren't Michael Jackson : rock salt. 4th in L-verse. Chapter 1 was supposed to be a stand-alone. Warnings for non-con and violence from Chapter 6 on, and off-page violence in Chapter 5.
1. Trent

_I just watched "Michael" today, and I was SO FREAKING TICKED OFF AT THE WARBLERS! Argh! Just let me go all Auntie Snakes on their asses, please? I mean, how could they just leave their friend?_

_But then I remembered that Blaine left them first. And so I wrote this piece describing the Warblers' reasoning, mostly featuring Trent (the guy who asked if Blaine was okay after Santana confronted Sebastian). There is a slight deviance from canon based on a glee angst meme prompt I saw and will link to at the end. Namely, **both** of Blaine's eyes are covered instead of just one because a) he doesn't rock the pirate look very well, and this is coming from a girl who only started watching _Glee_ because he was on it, and b) the slushie hit his entire face, why would it only affect one eye? But enough about physics. Let's get to the story._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the song "It Ends Tonight" by the All-American Rejects._

* * *

><p>Chapter I: Trent<p>

Five and a Half Months Ago:

"This meeting of the Dalton Academy Warblers is now in session," Wes banged his gavel with more tenderness than most boys in the room imagined that he showed his mother. "As I am a senior who will be graduating come June, our first order of business, of course, is who will replace me in the council next year." He folded his hands, and in an effort to not whack Thad with his arm, his elbow brushed against his bulging pocket.

"We can't replace you, Wes," Blaine said warmly. "You're our dear friend."

Wes cleared his throat and blinked rapidly. The room was dusty, and it was getting into his eyes. "Still," he said with a barely-there tremble in his voice, "we need a third council member. Voting will be held from 4:00 to 7:00 today, and please write your name on the ballot. Don't worry, your results won't be announced to anyone else."

"Unless someone gives David Red Vines," Jeff hollered.

Wes made a half-hearted shushing motion as David and Jeff threw friendly insults.

He banged his gavel one last time, running his fingers down the back. "And our last order of business for the academic year 2010-2011, is to party!" He pulled a noisemaker out of his pocket and blew on it as David and Thad threw out bags of sweets and treats. Someone else turned on the rarely-used speakers and the music of Britney Spears blasted across the room.

"Why are we voting?" Nick asked above the noise. "We all know Blaine's going to be it."

"Guys, I'd be a junior next year," Blaine protested. "I don't have enough experience."

"That's bull, Blaine, and you know it," Thad argued.

"You're the best of us," Trent nodded. Half a dozen voices raised in agreement.

"I can't do it because," Blaine held up a hand, and everyone fell silent, "I won't be here next year."

The silence audibly changed.

"I've already put in the paperwork to transfer to McKinley."

Immediately, a cacophony of protests assaulted his ears.

"Why?" Nick asked.

"You're leaving us?" Thad couldn't believe this.

"You're choosing Kurt over us?" Trent looked hurt.

Blaine held up another hand, this time to no avail, so he raised his voice enough to be heard. "Look, Dalton has been my savior, and you guys especially. You came to me and accepted me for who I am, and even encouraged me, when I was at my lowest. But I can't stay here. I have to face the real world some time, and I can't possibly do that any better than beside my boyfriend."

"So you are leaving us for Kurt!" Jeff crossed his arms and refused to look at him.

Blaine sighed. "I still love you guys, and I promise to come visit, alright? But I can't stay here when my dreams and my heart is out there," he pointed to the window.

Trent took out a pair of scissors.

* * *

><p>"So they shredded your uniforms?" Pearl asked. "Blaine, son, I'm sorry."<p>

Blaine shrugged. "I wouldn't need them at McKinley anyway."

Pearl lifted the lid of the waffle maker and sighed at the smoking black concoction that lay within the squares. "Well, that's useless," she dumped it out before turning to her son and folding her hands over his. "Blaine, no matter how hard you try to deny it, I know how big of an influence that school's had on your life. Coming straight from being bullied to a place where people love you? That's not something people forget or stop missing. You wanted that blazer to remind yourself that there is a place where people are accepting when you go to a place where they aren't."

Blaine blinked away his tears as he nodded. His regret spilled over in his eyes and he buried his face in his mother's chest and cried like a baby.

* * *

><p><span>Present Day:<span>

"Guys, I have an announcement to make," Sebastian said. "It turns out that McKinley is doing Michael Jackson for Regionals."

"Oh, hell no!" Thad was incensed. "First, they take Blaine, now they take MJ?"

"No, actually, they don't," Sebastian smiled. "We're going to take it back. I've already submitted our set list to the judges, so if the Nude Erections continue with their plans, they're going to get a nasty surprise.

"Wait, but won't they—and Blaine—get into trouble?" Nick looked worried.

Trent snorted. "Who cares? If he leaves us, he doesn't get our concern, right guys?" he stood, gesturing for the rest of the Warblers to join him.

"Right," David stood, then Jeff, then the rest of the Warblers joined suit.

Trent smiled at Sebastian. "We're in. What do you want us to do?" he asked.

Sebastian smirked. "Buy the most outrageously-colored slushie you can find. I'm going to add a…special Sebastian twist to it, and we're going to toss it in Blaine's face."

"Guys, I don't feel good about doing this," said Thad.

Sebastian rolled his eyes and started a song.

_Your subtleties, they strangle me. I can't explain myself at all._

Trent started to sing as well.

_And all the wants, and all the needs, and I don't want to need at all._

The boys started to sing together.

_The walls start breathing, my mind's unweaving. Maybe it's best you leave me alone.  
>A weight is lifted, on this evening, I give the final blow.<em>

All the Warblers started to sing at once.

_When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight, it ends tonight._

Thad started to sing now.

_A falling star, least I fall alone. I can't explain what you can't explain._

Nick took over where he left off.

_You're finding things that you didn't know. I look at you with such disdain._

The Warblers made guitar sounds behind Nick and Thad.

_The walls start breathing, my mind's unweaving. Maybe it's best you leave me alone.  
>A weight is lifted, on this evening, I give the final blow.<em>

Everyone harmonized together.

_When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight, it ends tonight.  
>Just a little insight won't make this right.<br>It's too late to fight, it ends tonight, it ends tonight._

Jeff started to sing on his own.

_Now I'm on my own side, it's better than being on your side._

David started to sing as well.

_It's my fault when you're blind. It's better that I see it through your eyes._

Now it was Flint's turn to sing.

_All these thoughts locked inside, now you're the first to know._

Now all the Warblers sang together.

_When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight, it ends tonight.  
>Just a little insight won't make this right<br>It's too late to fight, it ends tonight, it ends._

Now Sebastian was left singing on his own.

_When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight, it ends tonight._

The rest of the Warblers joined him as Trent came back with a slushie. Sebastian put it in a bag through which no one could see him add a secret ingredient.

_Just a little insight won't make this right, it ends tonight.  
>It ends tonight, tonight, in sight.<br>When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight._

* * *

><p>"What did you put in the slushie?" Santana demanded.<p>

"That's not our fault," Sebastian replied with a shrug. "He was in the way. That slushie was meant for Kurt."

"And that makes it okay?" Santana screeched. "Blaine's in the hospital!"

Trent felt horribly guilty. He was the one who had supplied Sebastian with the slushie last night. "Is he okay?" he asked worriedly.

"No, Fatty McBurger," she sneered at him. "He has to have surgery, so I'm going to ask you one more time," she got right in Sebastian's face. "**What did you put in the slushie?**"

Sebastian sighed. "Rock salt," he said in a bored tone.

Trent felt his heart drop to his knees. If he had been able to focus on anything besides the rushing in his ears, he would have seen the Warblers match his expression as the room became deathly quiet.

"The doctors don't know if he'll ever see again," Santana whispered.

"That's okay," Sebastian said cavalierly.

"How the hell is that okay?" Santana demanded.

"Because I didn't put anything in this one." Too late, Trent remembered he was holding a slushie, which was taken out of his shocked hands and poured into Santana's face. She gasped and winced, and Trent couldn't stand it. He turned and ran as far away from the group as he could. Footsteps behind him told him that others also took his run of shame, leaving Sebastian alone to gloat.

The next day, no one showed up to the scheduled Warblers practice. It was likely that they would never have met again had they not all received an email to go to the McKinley auditorium at the same time.

* * *

><p>Blaine swallowed as his mother led him around the house. "Okay, we're at the stairs now, so bring your foot up and out, okay, that's too far, that's good, now let it down."<p>

Blaine hated this. He hated the dark, he hated being helpless, he hated the dark, he hated depending on his mother for the simplest things, he hated the dark, and he hated not being able to see, but most of all, he hated the dark. It made him feel alone, and if he didn't constantly remind himself that those were his mother's hands, every shift of the fingers on his arm and waist would scare him. Actually, every shift of the fingers on his arm and waist **did **scare him.

Blaine hated the dark.

* * *

><p>As the Warblers entered, none of them could look the others—or the New Directions—in the eye, except for Sebastian, who continued walking brazenly toward the stage and making sarcastic comments.<p>

When the New Directions sang, Trent felt a powerful pull. He had to make amends, and how better than to show the New Directions that he was one of them—a friend, not a foe? He got up on the stage. This time, the footsteps following him made him proud. This time, Sebastian's gloating was weak. This time, the bullying would end. It would end tonight.

* * *

><p><em>I'm sorry if I didn't get the dialogue all right. I've only watched the episode once. Pearl is an OC I made to be Blaine's adoptive mother.<em>

_Next time, a longer version of the scene where Finn and Rachel visit Blaine, and Pearl tries to cook, the operative word being "tries."_

_Love? Hate? Suggestions? Demands? Review!_


	2. Finn

_So here's what you missed on Glee: Blaine's parents weren't really his parents, and they'd been (very badly) mistreating him, so a police officer who worked his case decided to adopt him when it was over. She used to work for Gregory House, which was when she met her former girlfriend, Aimi. So that gets you caught up on everything you need to know from the earlier installments of the L-verse. And that's what you missed on _GLEE!

_Seriously, though, I'm considering changing the title to "Like the Salt of the Earth" and making this part of the L-verse, just so everyone knows. Up there is a recap of the L-verse so far._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the show_ Glee_, nor__ the song "Yellow" by Coldplay, a totally awesome band._

* * *

><p>Chapter II: Finn<p>

"Thank goddess you came," Pearl confessed as she let Kurt inside. "I've been afraid to leave him, but I need to do some housework."

"Thank you, Ms. Rush," Kurt said. "I'm glad he has you."

Pearl blushed, shooed him upstairs, and left to make chicken noodle soup without setting the house on fire. She had managed to make a bowl of what tasted like cat urine when she heard an unexpected knock. The door opened to reveal Rachel and Finn.

"Well, this is a surprise," Pearl beamed and stepped back, opening the door wider. "Come in, guys! I've been trying to make some soup; do you want to try some?"

Finn looked panicked, but Rachel simply lifted her green thermos. "No need," she said, "I already brought some."

"Oh thank goodness," Pearl sighed in relief. "Mine tastes like burning."

"Burning what?" Finn asked.

"Just burning," Pearl replied, dumping it across her flowerbed. "Anyway, that was very thoughtful of you, Rachel, thank you. Kurt and Blaine are upstairs."

Rachel and Finn nodded and went upstairs while Pearl watched in dismay as her pansies died rapidly en masse.

Upstairs, Blaine was utterly shocked when Kurt's brother and friend walked in bearing gifts and song. As they sang, he actually got quite choked up.

Rachel sat on the side of the bed opposite Kurt, and took Blaine's hand.

_Look at the stars, look how they shine for you, and everything you do. Yeah, they were all yellow._

Finn stayed at the foot of the bed and sang where he stood.

_I came along, I wrote a song for you, and all the things you do, and it was called yellow._

Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand.

_So then I took my turn. Oh what a thing to have done, and it was all yellow._

Downstairs, Pearl cried over the flowers.

_Your skin, oh yeah your skin and bones turn into something beautiful._

The four voices blended perfectly.

_You know, you know I love you so. You know I love you so._

Rachel started to sing again, looking at Finn this time.

_I swam across, I jumped across for you. Oh what a thing to do. 'Cause you were all yellow._

Finn walked up to her and took her hand.

_I drew a line. I drew a line for you. Oh what a thing to do, and it was all yellow._

Pearl bent down and picked up some of Blaine's flowery hair clips off the floor.

_Your skin, oh yeah your skin and bones turn into something beautiful._

Kurt pressed his forehead to Blaine's and sang quietly.

_And you know, for you I'd bleed myself dry. For you I'd bleed myself dry._

The four sang together as Pearl walked slowly up the stairs.

_It's true. Look how they shine for you, look how they shine for you, look how they shine for  
>Look how they shine for you, look how they shine for you, look how they shine.<em>

The four fell silent as Blaine reached forward and touched Kurt's cheek, singing the final line alone.

_Look at the stars, look how they shine for you, and all the things that you do._

"So, how'd you like the song?" Finn asked bashfully.

"It's amazing," Blaine said in awe. "It really means a lot to me that you'd come by to check up on me."

"Of course, bro," Finn blushed, flattered.

"I didn't think you were going to come," Blaine added.

"What! Why?" Finn was surprised as Rachel stood.

Blaine shrugged. "I didn't think you liked me much."

"Dude, maybe I was kinda hard on you at the beginning of the year, but we had that whole talk, remember? In the gym?" Finn took Rachel's seat.

"What do you mean, 'kind of hard' on him?" Pearl queried.

Finn kept looking at Blaine, who shifted uncomfortably. "I know, we settled the bad blood between us, but I didn't think we were friends." When he saw Finn's hurt face, he quickly added, "I mean, I like you, Finn, but I was pretty sure you didn't like me."

Finn, if possible, looked even more hurt. "Dude, of course I like you. I mean, I stood up for you instead of Puck, remember? And besides, you're one of us now."

Blaine smiled. "Thanks, Finn!" his face lit up. "I still can't believe it, though."

"Can't believe what?" it was Pearl who asked this time.

Blaine's bottom lip wobbled, and Kurt hastily reached for the box of tissues on the dresser next to the bed.

"At my last high school, there was this Sadie Hawkins dance," Blaine began with a sigh. "I asked my crush out, and he said yes. Afterward, a bunch of jocks cornered us and beat the crap out of us. Damarion, he was lucky; he got amnesia. Actually, I was luckier; I can still walk. But it took months of therapy, and I had to take so much time off that I had to repeat the school year. But in all that time, nobody visited me, not one person." He sniffed, and Kurt hugged him close, rubbing soothing circles down his back.

"That sucks, man," Finn looked deeply shaken. "That's gotta hurt, thinking you're all alone and that nobody cares about you."

Blaine shook his head. "Actually," he said, "my room was filled with 'Get Well' cards, teddy bears, and flowers, but the writing in the cards was too curly, and my parents threw them out before I could decipher them, so I never found out who sent them. I'd like to think it was the nice old lady who brought me the baked gingersnap cookies, even if they were as hard as my shoes and tasted about as good."

"Hey who are you calling old?" Pearl demanded.

Everyone looked at her for a second, then back at Blaine.

"That still sounds pretty harsh, dude," Finn added.

Blaine smiled at Kurt. "I didn't want to hope that you were going to check up on me, but I guess I must have, because I'm **so** **glad** you're here, Kurt! And having you two here?" he looked at Rachel and Finn. "I can't believe you guys care enough."

Rachel and Finn both blushed and looked at their intertwined hands.

"Okay, Mr. Sentimentality," Pearl teased, holding out a pill and a glass of water. "It's time for your daily painkiller."

Blaine groaned, but reached up and took the pill out of his mother's hand anyway.

"Dude, why aren't you more happy about this?" Finn asked. "I mean, doesn't your eye hurt and stuff?"

"Yes, but I don't like Vicodin," Blaine frowned distastefully as he swallowed. "I always get too chatty."

"Yes, he does," Pearl grinned. "You should have heard him talk about an imaginary school on Mars called Pigfarts, run by a lion named Rumbleroar."

"Too much Harry Potter again, Blaine?" Kurt teased.

Blaine swatted him with a pillow. "No such thing, Kurt," he teased back.

Kurt grabbed another pillow and swatted him back. Rachel and Finn, not wanting to be left out, took the pillows Pearl handed them and started to hit each other. Then, suddenly, Blaine collapsed backward with an exhalation somewhere between a groan and a sigh.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked anxiously.

"The painkillers are working," Pearl said. "Any second now, he's going to start describing the Pigfarts' headmaster Rumbleroar, and how that lion can talk."

"Oh, really?" Rachel smirked. She leaned forward and slyly asked, "Hey, Blaine, visit any headmasters lately?" she asked.

Blaine shook his head. "I don't want him looking at me like I'm diseased," he said.

Rachel frowned. "What do you mean, because you're human?" she asked, alarmed.

"Because I'm not Asian, like he is. Figgins," he said. "I'm mixed. My dad's Irish and my mom's Filipina. I can't fit in anywhere," Blaine rolled over to look at his mother. "Didn't you ever wonder why Mike and Tina never came over and offered protection with the Asian community?"

Pearl, unable to bear this, walked out of the room with her hand over her mouth.

"I thought that was just a joke," Rachel admitted.

"What about Sadie Hawkins, then?" Blaine asked blearily. "I have memories of that night every day. Sure, I used to get beat up a lot, but for loving who I did? I never thought that would happen," his head rolled off to the side, away from Kurt.

Kurt sighed and continued rubbing Blaine's back.

Blaine sighed in relief. "I'm glad I can talk to you, Kurt," he said. "Mother's not home all the time and you really get it, but you won't be around for long."

Kurt kissed Blaine's forehead. "Of course I understand, and I'm not going **any**where, Blaine," he whispered, rubbing their noses together in an Eskimo kiss.

"Yes you are," Blaine insisted. "You have to go to NYADA and live in New York where the bullies won't bother you and leave me here to face the bullies by myself and…" his cries were drowned out by the sound of a phone ringing downstairs, which Pearl answered.

"Oh my gosh, Blaine," Rachel stood, letting go of Blaine's hand. "I can't believe this," she gently brushed some of Blaine's hair away from his eyes, causing Kurt to swat her hands away and take over the task. "I mean, I always knew you and Kurt were close, but I didn't think you'd take separation so hard."

Blaine shrugged. "I don't want people to think that I do."

"Why not?" Finn asked.

"Because you guys were all looking for a singer, just like the Warblers. Nobody was looking for little old me," Blaine answered. "Except Kurt," he added after a pause, "and maybe my mother." He thought for a few seconds. "No, definitely my mother, and Kurt," he added with a beatific smile at Kurt.

Finn's resembled a goldfish.

"I know my parents didn't," Blaine continued. "And yeah, I did get beat up a lot. I'm glad I'm not living there anymore, okay? So please don't think I'm ungrateful. But back then, I could shut off my feelings. Now I can't, and I can feel all the pain, all the hurt."

"I'm sorry, Blaine," Rachel took Blaine's hand back in his.

Finn had never been more aware of his limbs, or more disoriented. It was like too many ideas were trying to cram themselves into his head. He stood up, feeling discombobulated. "Wait, Kurt, Rachel, you guys knew?"

Rachel looked at Kurt with a pained expression. "Well, I've heard about it, but I'm sure Kurt knows more than I do."

Finn felt extremely uneasy as he thought about his treatment of Blaine earlier that year. He had acted under the assumption that, since Blaine's life was perfect now, he was going to get cocky. But now, it had never been clearer that the past didn't go away that easily. "Blaine," he began, feeling Kurt's accusing eyes on his, "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Blaine shrugged. "No one blames you."

A cough from Kurt neatly dispelled that claim.

"Seriously, man," Finn said. "I hope you're okay."

Pearl came into the room again. "That was the doctor," she said. "Your surgery's next week, but he said that the scans told him your left eye isn't that badly damaged, so you can take it off soon."

"Good," Blaine nodded vigorously. "I hate the dark," he said.

Pearl smiled sadly. "I know," she said before leaving again.

Suddenly, Finn's phone rang. "Hello? Oh, hey. Uh, yeah, we're here right now. Uh-huh, oh, okay. I'll be there in ten minutes." He hung up and turned to the bed. "Hey, that was Burt. He needs our help at the garage," he told Kurt.

Before Blaine could sigh as Kurt withdrew his hand, Rachel stood up. "I won't pretend to know anything about cars," she began, "but maybe I could help."

Finn smiled. "Yeah, maybe. Here," he put his hand on her back and guided her to the car. "I'll show you."

With Rachel and Finn gone, Kurt looked at Blaine and sighed again. Suddenly, something roared downstairs; the kitchen was on fire."Oh, come on," Pearl muttered crossly. "I didn't put car oil instead of vegetable oil in the bread this time, I swear." She got up to go, but paused just before closing the door, "Vegetable oil's in the yellow jar, right?"

"No, it's in the grey one," Blaine replied.

There was complete silence, during which Pearl had an expression even more shocked than Finn's. "Oh, crapski," she let out a string of words stronger than that on her way down.

Kurt and Blaine chuckled a little as Kurt stroked Blaine's hair, until finally, Blaine put both hands over Kurt's, keeping them from moving.

"What's wrong?" Kurt asked gently.

"I don't like the dark," Blaine gritted his teeth. "I don't like not being able to see you." Unexpectedly, he turned to face Kurt, who wondered if, had Blaine been able to open his eyes, they would be staring at each other. "I like your skin," he reached out and brushed hesitating fingers against Kurt's cheek before settling his whole hand on it. "I like your nose," his hand slid closer to the center of Kurt's face, close enough for him to swipe his thumb on Kurt's nose. "I like your ears," he slid his hand up so that his ring and pinky fingers could touch Kurt's ear. "I like your eyes," he continued sliding his hands up until his index finger and middle fingers closed Kurt's fluttering eyelids. "I like your mouth," he slid his hand back down until his palm hit Kurt's upper lip. "Well, what do you know?" he smiled in pleasant surprise. "It looks like I can see you after all," he said, leaning forward.

He was a few millimeters off, but he kissed a trail from Kurt's chin to his lips, and they likely wouldn't have stopped had Pearl not called out, "Hey, guys, I've put, like, three buckets of water on this thing, and it still won't go out," from downstairs.

Kurt and Blaine turned to each other with matching expressions of horror. "Mother, grease fires need to be put out with salt or baking soda! Water will just spread the grease and flames around!" Blaine turned sightlessly to where Kurt had been sitting. "Could you-?"

"I'm already downstairs, Blaine!" Kurt yelled. Blaine lied back on his bed and cursed. He hated not being able to see.

* * *

><p><em>I'm impressed with myself. I don't think I've ever written four straight pages of one single scene.<em>

_Next time, Blaine undergoes surgery and some of the Warblers make another appearance._

_Guys, why don't you all make like Gleekurt and review? You don't even have to put a name!_


	3. Wes

_Guys, midterms are coming up, so I'm going to leave you with this cliffhanger for another month!_

_I'm just kidding, I'm going to put up the next chapter soon, but after that, I probably won't post for a while, for reasons that are only semi-related to midterms:_

_**PROPOSITION 8 HAS BEEN OVERTURNED BY THE U.S. SUPREME COURT! I CAN GET MARRIED NOW!**  
><em>

_Yeah, Mia and I are...well, getting over our differences and talking things out, so we're starting to discuss this. I can't believe I'm lucky enough to live in this generation. -squee!-_

_Also, there is a tense change, and it is supposed to be awkward, because in that scene, the Warblers feel really awkward._

_Disclaimer: I forgot to mention in the first chapter that I don't own the show _Glee_, but come on, if I did, would I be writing fanfic for it? Also, I don't own the song "Unfaithful" by Rihanna, who is really, really frigging sexy._

* * *

><p>Chapter III: Wes<p>

Wes looked at the panoramic picture that had been taken on the annual Warbler trip to the nursing home. (They had considered taking one at the GAP, but most of the Warblers were hardcore Blurt shippers before they realized just what that would entail.) He felt a pang of nostalgia as he stared at the boy in the top right corner, in the very back, who was little more than a tuft of curly hair because Kurt had stolen his gel that day.

Kurt was good for Blaine, Wes realized with something akin to regret. Everyone had been wrong for assuming that he was too domineering. He decided to call Kurt and apologize, and there was no time like the present.

"Hello?" Kurt sounded like he had been crying; Wes had been around the boy long enough to know what those sniffles meant. "Who is this?"

Wes suddenly realized that he had been quiet for too long, and that Kurt had never gotten his number. For some reason, that made him sad. "Kurt, it's me, Wes."

Kurt's sharp intake of breath sounded almost angry. "Were you in it too?" he demanded.

"Was I in what?" Wes asked.

"The Warblers slushied Blaine and Santana, Wes! Sebastian put rock salt in one of the slushies, and now Blaine's in the hospital."

Wes saw red. And green and blue, in his anger.

"They put Blaine in the hospital?" Wes was shocked.

"With a **slushie**," Kurt stressed. "The very symbol of bullying to a McKinley High student at the bottom of the social ladder."

Wes mumbled a goodbye and hung up. He had people to yell at, but first, he had a friend to visit.

* * *

><p>"Wes," Pearl kept her arms crossed, positioning her body so that there was no way the former head of the Warbler council could brush past her and get inside.<p>

"Ma'am, I know you're upset over what the Warblers did to your son, and you have every right to be. But I graduated last year; I had absolutely nothing to do with it. I just wanted to see how Blaine was doing," Wes said quickly.

Pearl sighed. "Fine," she said. "He's fine."

"When's his surgery?" Wes asked.

"Tomorrow," Pearl said, dropping her arms. Her shoulders lowered too, giving her that much more of a tired appearance. "He needs a friend right now, and they're all at school."

"Dalton's curfew isn't until-" Wes stopped. He understood then that they hadn't come, that they weren't **going** to come. "I see," he nodded tersely. "May I see him?"

"Fine, but until those boys can prove themselves in those suits, I'm not going to let them in," Pearl moved out of the way. She didn't talk to him again as he walked upstairs and knocked carefully on the door, where Blaine sat, trembling on the bed, white-knuckled hands fisted on his sheets and jaw clenched, as if to prevent screaming.

"Blaine," he said gently, "it's Wes. May I come in?"

"Wes?" Blaine sat bolt upright off the bed. "Please, please!" he said, face splitting in a grin.

Wes walked as noisily as he could over to the bed before sitting down slowly enough for the bedsprings to let out a slow groan. Blaine turned his head over to him and Wes had the uneasy feeling that, should he have been able to open his eyes, Blaine would have been looking straight at him. "Um, how are you?" he asked awkwardly, still the gentlemen.

Blaine smiled. "Very good, now that you're here," he said.

Wes chuckled, and Blaine's face fell. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"You're sad," Blaine said. "You're trying to hide it, but you're sad."

Wes wondered if it was true, the belief that the blind and deaf were extra-sensitive in their working senses. "I'm sorry no one's visited you."

"It's okay," Blaine turned to the wall on his right, where a shelf of board games lied. "It only takes two to play monopoly."

Wes laughed and got up to grab the game, ignoring the sharp intakes of breath Blaine took when he got up and came back, and the look—he was terrified of being left alone—when he could not feel his friend beside him. "Come on," Wes said, now ignoring the look of startled relief, "let's play."

* * *

><p>It's an ordinary day at Dalton. Teachers quietly teach, classes quietly pass, Warblers quietly enter the room. Nobody thinks anything of it, except that the Warblers are never quiet, but the tactful Dalton students don't say anything.<p>

"I call this meeting to session," David doesn't touch the gavel. Nobody has, not since Wes left. David tried halfheartedly to a couple times, but Jeff laughed at him and he stopped.

"I have something to say, before we get started," Thad begins. He and David are sitting at the other end of the table, so close that they can't move without moving the other. Sebastian sits at the other end of the table, because if he moves any closer the other two will move as well.

"So do I," Trent says.

"Me too," Nick pipes up.

Flint and Jeff and David and everyone else who knew Blaine mumble something along the same lines.

"I'm quitting the Warblers," Thad says. The new Warblers, who had do not know Blaine, look at each other and wonder why, but there's no need for the rest of them to look at each other. They all know what's going to happen, so they get up and head toward the door, which opens as if the room itself is in a hurry to usher them out.

But no, it's just Wes pushing the doors open, fury in his eyes.

Now the boys wish only the door was angry at them.

"You idiots!" Wes calls. "You assholes. Blaine's one of us, and so is Kurt."

"They left us," Flint says weakly. He wants to get away from Wes' immediate glare.

"They loved you guys, and they still love me," Wes says firmly. "They would still love you, if you didn't go around throwing slushies at the people they love. You guys who knew Kurt; you know how badly he would be affected by a slushie, yet you did it anyway." Trent, Nick, David, Thad, Jeff, and Flint looks ashamed. "By doing that, you broke Blaine's trust. Remember how long it took us to form that trust? Blaine came to us broken, and he left whole enough **to** leave." All of the Warblers who know Blaine suddenly sprout looks of shame on their faces too. "And by relying on the underhanded tactics you did, not only did you act in ways unbecoming to a Warbler, but you acted in ways unbecoming to a student of Dalton Academy. If nothing else, we are **gentlemen**, and we do not resort to such tactics!"

Now everyone looks ashamed.

Wes casts his attentions to the three boys behind the desk. "None of you deserve this gavel," he says, snatching it out of David's hands. "I left believing that you two would pick up the slack from my absence. Clearly, I was wrong. Are you two even leaders?"

"No," Thad's words shock him. "We quit."

Wes calms down and casts a cold eye around the room. "Rather than letting any one of you cast shame upon the Warbler title, how about you all collectively act to give it esteem it deserves?" he asks. "Blaine is in the hospital."

"Warbler Smythe," Thad and David cross their arms at the snot-faced boy, "you are hereby expelled from the Warblers."

"You can't do this!" Sebastian yells as Trent and Nick start to push him out of the room. "My father is a state attorney! He can sue you all for discrimination!"

"And my father is the attorney general of the United States," Wes smiles.

Sebastian can only fume as the boys start talking about telling the principal and quickly abandon that idea because how could they tell without getting themselves in trouble?

"Guys," Trent says, "who cares if we all get in trouble? After what we did, we deserve to get in trouble, or even expelled, but not before we do some good," he starts to tell the Warblers about his plans.

* * *

><p>"Is the surgery supposed to take this long?" Pearl asked anxiously. Having worked for House a few years back, she knew that surgeries that were supposed to take two hours didn't take three unless the doctors found something else that was wrong.<p>

"Well, our doctors are examining his left eye now," the doctor said reassuringly. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

Pearl bit her lip worriedly, but sat back down, the only signs of her distress a bleeding lip and rapidly shaking legs. A few people glared at her when the floor started to vibrate slightly, but their expressions turned into ones of shock when a group of five blazer-clad boys walked in, led by Wes, all carrying one piece of Dalton's uniform: pants, shoes, ties, blazers, and socks.

"Is Blaine still in surgery?" asked the boy Pearl knew was David.

"Yes," Pearl glared at them. "No thanks to you guys."

The two boys at the front, Thad and Trent, looked very ashamed. "We're here to tell you how sorry we are that this all happened, ma'am," Trent said.

"Yes, well," Pearl straightened, "you should be. Your little prank has landed my son in the hospital twice in the same week."

"We've started a collection," said Jeff, holding out a box. "It's for Blaine's hospital bills. My father works here, and he says this is enough to cover it."

Pearl took it. "Thank you, boys," she said, voice slightly softer, but only slightly. She knew that these boys truly did regret what they did, but that they would do it in the first place, and not knowing why they were sorry, left her wary.

"We can get more," Jeff added quickly.

Pearl shook her head. "I think you boys have done enough, don't you?"

Now everyone looked ashamed.

"We really are sorry, ma'am," said Flint.

"Good," Pearl nodded stiffly, "but I'm not in surgery right now, so why don't you all wait with me?"

The boys sat uneasily down near, but not next to, Pearl, until the doctor came back out and said that Blaine was able to receive visitors, although the way his face fell when he heard the Warblers said otherwise.

Wes sang first, closing the door and forcing the rest of the Warblers to wait outside.

_Story of my life, searching for the right, but it keeps avoiding me._

Trent sang second, swallowing his guilt.

_Sorrow in my soul, 'cause it seems that wrong, really loves my company._

David sang the third line, staring at the swathes of gauze over Blaine's eyes.

_He's more than a man, and this is more than love, the reason that the sky is blue._

Thad came in fourth, singing and dancing the same way Blaine used to.

_The clouds are rolling in, because I'm gone again, and to him I just can't be true._

The three boys gathered together and sang.

_And I know that he knows I'm unfaithful and it kills him inside  
>To know that I am happy with some other guy. I can see him dying.<em>

All the Warblers joined in, and Blaine nodded for Wes to let them in.

_I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to be the reason why  
>Every time I walk out the door, I see him die a little more inside<br>I don't want to hurt him anymore, I don't want to take away his life.  
>I don't want to be…<em>the Warblers joined hands, _a murderer._

Nick sang the next line, heading the line that gave Blaine a new Dalton uniform.

_I feel it in the air, as I'm doing my hair, preparing for another date._

Jeff sang next. Blaine's smile grew wider.

_A kiss upon my cheek, as he reluctantly, asks if I'm going to be out late._

While Flint sang, the uniform became whole, piece by piece.

_I say I won't be long, just hanging with the girls, a lie I didn't have to tell._

Trent knew while he sang the last line that it wasn't just the uniform becoming whole.

_Because we both know, where I'm about to go, and we know it very well._

Those four boys stood together and sang.

'_Cause I know that he knows I'm unfaithful and it kills him inside.  
>To know that I'm happy with some other guy. I can see him dying.<em>

The Warblers, new and old, sang with Pearl this time.

_I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to be the reason why.  
>Every time I walk out the door, I see him die a little more inside.<br>I don't want to hurt him anymore, I don't want to take away his life.  
>I don't want to be…<em>Trent put a canary pin on top of the pile of clothes, _a murderer._

Wes sang as the Warblers who hadn't followed Trent's plan back in the room walked in.

_Our love, his trust, I might as well take a gun and put it to his head.  
>Get it over with, I don't want to do this, anymore, uh, anymore (anymore).<em>

Everyone sang together, even Pearl and Blaine.

_I don't want to do this anymore, I don't want to be the reason why  
>And every time I walk out the door, I see him die a little more inside<br>And I don't want to hurt him anymore, I don't want to take away his life.  
>I don't want to be…a murderer. No, no, no, no, yeah, yeah, yeah.<em>

The apologies started immediately.

"We're very sorry, Blaine."

"We never meant to hurt you."

"We had no idea it was going to hit you."

"None of us knew it was anything but a normal slushie."

"Please forgive us, Blaine."

"Stop," Blaine held up a hand. "What happened to you guys? You were the nicest people I knew two years ago, and look at you now! Besides, it's not me you're supposed to apologize to, it's Kurt. You guys meant to hit him with the slushie, and he knows it and you have to apologize to him."

"I think I heard my…name," Kurt looked fearfully around at the blazer-clad boys surrounding Blaine's bed.

"It's okay," Blaine said with a smile. "They're just leaving," he added, looking significantly at Trent.

Trent stood up uncomfortably. "Kurt, we have something to say."

* * *

><p><em>And for those of you waiting for an update on <span>Fifteen<span>, I want the ending to be **really** good, also the plot bunnies for this story are multiplying like...well, bunnies, so it's taking a while. But I **don't** abandon stories, ever, so I will finish it. Eventually. Within my lifetime._

_Next time, the Warblers apologize to Kurt, and he has a pretty explosive reaction._


	4. Kurt

_This is...a little different than I thought it would be. Also, I would like to tell anybody who's interested that I'm doing something I swore to myself I would never do: delete a story. I'm sorry, but my muse for Tesseraction as it is has rebelled, and thus it won't work. However, I am going to repost it at a later date when my inspiration for it returns._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the song "The Scientist" by Coldplay._

* * *

><p>Chapter IV: Kurt<p>

"We're really sorry," Trent started.

Kurt nodded stiffly, eyes trained at the window, where Pearl was currently fussing over her son. "A bit too late for that, don't you think?" he asked imperially. "What happened to you guys? You used to be the nicest people I know. How can you just let Sebastian reduce you to **this**, to bullies? Not to mention that your bullying put Blaine in the hospital."

At the mention of bullies, Thad visibly flinched. All heads suddenly turned to him.

"If you've got something to say, Thad Warbler, spit it out," Kurt replied coldly.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to, Thad," Wes said immediately.

"No," Thad pushed Wes away. "I have to." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I used to go to Carmel High," he admitted. "I would have auditioned for the glee club there, if I weren't fat," anger flashed in his eyes. "I lost thirteen pounds and stopped eating for a week and a half before anyone realize something was wrong," he blinked tears out of his eyes, and Jeff came up behind him to rub soothing circles in his back. "What I mean to say is," Thad said with a stronger voice, "I know what it feels like to be bullied. I know what it feels like to have food thrown at you. Doing what I did…I can't believe I didn't realize it was bullying."

Kurt's eyes didn't soften, but Pearl opened the door. "Blaine says he's changed his mind and wants to talk to you guys."

The Warblers filed in, Thad at the head of the group. Wes smiled. Thad was proving himself capable of being a leader, even if he was looking less and less like one as he approached the boy on the bed and his upset eyes.

"Blaine," Thad began, "I-**we**, all owe you an apology. What we did was stupid and immature, and the only way we can make it up to you is by starting a war in your memory."

Kurt, Blaine, and Blaine's mother continued glaring at the boys until all of them reluctantly left.

Forgiveness wasn't easy. Kurt refused to forgive the boys because they hurt his boyfriend; Blaine refused to forgive the boys because they meant to hurt Kurt.

The Warblers were screwed.

* * *

><p>Pearl was debating whether to thank or kill Emily for sending over half a dozen casseroles with a note disparaging Pearl's cooking skills (or lack thereof) when the doorbell rang. Wondering where she was going to put the cards, teddy bears, balloons, or flowers whoever was at the door was surely there to bring, she opened the door and saw none of that. Instead, there stood a small crowd of blazer-clad boys, all holding on to the song in their hearts.<p>

She sighed. "You guys don't give up, do you?"

Thad shook his head.

Pearl looked at them for a while. Being with the BAU for years had taught her body language, and none of these boys showed anything but remorse. A few seconds of deliberation later, she decided to tell them, "Kurt and Blaine are upstairs. If they let you in, you can sing your song. If not, I don't want to see you guys here ever again."

The group was up the stairs faster than Pearl could blink.

"Blaine?" Thad was the first to speak. "We have something to say."

Kurt and Blaine sat in stony silence.

David spoke first. "In light of your injury and in honor of your memory-"

"Okay, guys, I'm not dead," Blaine rolled his eyes.

"We're going to** take back** the Warblers from Sebastian," David promised.

Kurt suddenly noticed the absence of a few Warblers who had been present at the sing-off in the garage, but not here, and frowned. Here was David, Thad, Jeff, Nick, Trent, and Flint, but where were the others?

And that was when he realized that David had left a few names off of the list of people to take the Warblers back from. "How outnumbered are you guys?" he asked.

Nick blushed. "We won't be so outnumbered if you get the New Directions to join us."

Kurt rolled his eyes, but said nothing beyond that, and Blaine figured that if his boyfriend could forgive the Warblers, so could he.

Grinning ear to ear, Thad began to sing.

_Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry. You don't know how lovely you are._

Thad started to hum behind David.

_I had to find you, tell you I need you, tell you I set you apart._

Thad and David accompanied Trent.

_Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions. Oh, let's go back to the start._

The six Warblers harmonized the chorus as Kurt and Blaine sang the melody.

_Nobody said it was easy. It's such a shame for us to part.  
>Nobody said it was easy. No one ever said it would be this hard.<br>Oh take me back to the start._

Jeff and Flint harmonized with Nick.

_I was just guessing at numbers and figures, pulling puzzles apart._

Nick gave up the melody to Jeff.

_Questions of science, science and progress do not speak as loud as my heart._

Nick and Jeff hummed together while Flint sang.

_And tell me you love me, come back and haunt me. Oh, and I rush to the start._

Unexpectedly, everyone fell silent as Blaine sang.

_Running in circles, chasing our tails, coming back as we are._

Now, the seven boys who had been Warblers longest let Kurt have the melody

_Nobody said it was easy. Oh, it's such a shame for us to part.  
>Nobody said it was easy. No one ever said it would be so hard.<br>I'm going back to the start._

The boys all hummed in unison.

_Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh. Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh.  
>Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh. Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh. <em>

"You guys can come see Blaine anytime you want, as long as you bring something that's not a casserole and don't make any comments on my culinary abilities," Pearl voiced her approval from the doorway.

A few Warblers snickered; those who didn't looked absolutely terrified, save Jeff, who had been lucky enough to have never tasted Pearl's blueberry pie, a pastry his friends lovingly referred to as fish-scale souffle, mostly because the one time they had been served that, they spent twenty minutes pulling out bits of fish. To this day, Pearl swears she doesn't know how they had gotten in there.

However, soon Pearl's baked bads would be the least of their problems.

* * *

><p>"I've read the rulebook," Sebastian said the next day. "You can't get rid of any member without a unanimous vote from the council, and I most certainly do not agree with my expulsion from this group."<p>

"Sebastian," David tried to be diplomatic, "we can make life very difficult for you if you do not leave."

"Not as difficult as I'll make your life by not leaving," Sebastian took a threatening step toward him. "I also refuse to authorize the expulsions of Thomas, Grant, and Gustin. They have excellent singing voices and kicking them out of the Warblers just because they're my best friends, and gay, will get you guys slapped with a discrimination lawsuit so quickly, you won't have time to blink."

"Joey Haro, Steven Skyler, and Cooper Rowe are also gay, and they are perfectly safe, mostly because they are safe from you and your violence-minded ilk," David said calmly.

"If you kick the four of us out," Sebastian smiled, "you won't have enough people to compete at Regionals."

"We'll hold auditions again," Thad replied. "We have a very long waitlist."

Sebastian stood. "I hope you leave yourselves enough spaces to undo this, because I have a feeling you're going to regret it otherwise."

"We doubt it," Thad and David said at once.

Thad turned to Trent. "Those in favor of electing Trent Warbler to the head council, raise your hands."

It was unanimous

* * *

><p>Kurt played with his coffee as he sat forlornly alone in the cafeteria until Sam came by.<p>

"Open your bedroom window as wide as it will go; you'll get a cold that won't last very long," the blond football player advised. "You can't go to school if you're sick."

"How would you know that?" Kurt asked, putting down the napkins that had come with his coffee.

San smiled. "I was Blaine's date to the Sadie Hawkins dance," he admitted. "He told me to run when he saw the jocks," a dark expression passed by his face. "I was okay, but he was put in the hospital for **weeks**. And all I could do was sit there and wait."

"What did you do after?" Talking to Sam was nothing like talking to Sebastian, although technically, Kurt had nudged both out of the running for Blaine's affections.

Sam sighed. "I just had to wait. When Blaine finally came to, I was overjoyed. But at that point, I'd met a girl."

Kurt made a distasteful face. "I can't believe you would treat Blaine's sacrifice for you as an excuse to go back into the closet."

Sam glared. "Kurt, stop," he said. "Some people are bisexual. I mean, Blaine is," he said.

Kurt put down his coffee cup. "He is not!" Kurt replied, scandalized. "The second time he kissed Rachel, he said he was gay!"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Did he do that in front of you?" Kurt's silence made him smirk, and he leaned forward. "He kissed Quinn too," Sam said. "I was there, luckily, or Finn would have been the second boy Quinn cheated on me with."

"Oh," Kurt looked down. After a long pause, he said in the smallest voice Sam had ever heard, "I really scared him, didn't I?"

Sam leaned back. "Well, you certainly didn't do him any favors, scaring him like that."

"The correct answer is 'No, you didn't,'" Blaine's familiar laugh sounded to the boys' side and they turned to find him with a death grip on Pearl's arm.

"Blaine!" Kurt ran up and glomped his boyfriend. "What are you doing here?"

"Mother made me come pick up my homework," Blaine pouted.

"You need to start focusing on your schoolwork now, Blaine! You're starting to get Bs now, Blaine," Pearl scolded. "You really think Columbia will accept you if you pull a 3.5 GPA?"

"You told me that when they accepted you, you had a C average!" Blaine protested.

"Well, by that time I had worked in crime labs for three years, two of which were with the FBI, with a 100% closing rate," Pearl smirked. "They sent me an acceptance for my major in forensic psychology. I didn't even apply."

The boys looked at each other before focusing on the most recent teenage drama.

"How much of our conversation did you hear?" Kurt asked.

Blaine's smile fell. "Kurt," he seemed at a loss for words.

Kurt emitted a sound that resembled what would be produced if a whimper and a sob had sex without protection. Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt, who hugged him back.

"I'm sorry," Kurt whispered.

Blaine kissed Kurt's forehead. "It's alright. I'm sorry for comparing you to Karofsky."

"What?" Sam stood up, outraged.

"We are going to be having a talk about this, young man," Pearl said, frowning at her son.

With a chastised frown, Blaine took Pearl's hand so she could lead him to collect his homework. Kurt and Sam watched.

"Wait, how exactly is he supposed to do his homework when he can't see?" Sam asked.

Kurt was about to guess something wildly improbable when Mike bumped into him, splashing his coffee all over his front. "Oh, it was my favorite!" he lamented the death of his baby-blue Marc Jacobs jacket.

"Relax, Kurt, a little bleach will get it off," Mike said easily, taking the napkins on the table and wiping Kurt's jacket off. "Look, I have to go catch up with Blaine, excuse me."

"What do you need to see Blaine for?" Kurt asked immediately. Everyone in New Directions had expressed their concern, but never with this degree of urgency.

"Tina sent me a text this morning that she wasn't going to come to school because Blaine's mother needed someone to take care of him," Mike explained. "I figured she was telling the truth, because…well, you remember when she called me after she tried to fix her clogged toilet on her own, don't you?" Kurt nodded, suppressing a smile. **That** particular incident could be smelled all the way in Cleveland. "Well, if she's not at school, and she's not here, then where is she?" Mike continued.

Kurt and Sam sprouted identical looks of horror.

"I bet you anything Sebastian had something to do with this," Kurt said, voice thick with anger. "I should've listened to Santana and not given Sebastian the tape."

"No shit, Sherlock," Santana said from behind them. Kurt, Mike, and Sam turned to the Latina, who was holding up another small cassette tape. "What? Did you seriously think I wouldn't make another copy?" she smirked.

Kurt grabbed it like it was a lifeline. "Oh, thank you so much, Santana!" he said as he hugged her tightly.

"Easy there, Tickle-Me-Doe-Face," Santana pushed him away. "I have a reputation to maintain. You can have the tape; I've got another copy at home. Anyway, I want to see this guy brought down. Brittany told me a guy who sounded like when Lord Tubbington choked on a weasel called her house last night, and that describes Sebastian's voice to a T."

The four of them looked at each other before running across the field, yelling for Pearl, who turned around in alarm, expecting to see criminal activity going on.

"Miss Rush, you're an FBI agent, aren't you?" Sam asked.

When Pearl nodded, Mike said, "I need you to find my girlfriend."

"What makes you think Tina's been kidnapped?" Pearl asked. Her face grew grim as Mike told her the story. "Do you guys know where I should start?"

"My g-good friend got a call," Santana crossed her arms. "Bet you anything it's from him."

* * *

><p><em>Yes, I'm aware that "bads" isn't a word. But it'd be ridiculous to call Pearl's pastries "goods."<em>

_The names used for the unfamiliar Warblers (the three with last names) are the names of the actors who play (as of now) unnamed Warblers. No points for guessing about the three Warblers who **don't** have last names._

_Next time, Sam gets himself in hot water._


	5. Sam

_That last episode made me realize I need to take this story in another direction than what was originally intended, but by doing so, I've officially made Lima, Ohio, the worst city to raise children in ever. Sorry, Ohioans!_

_This chapter and the next one will be a little longer because I don't have the time to update as often as I have been._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Goodbye My Lover" by James Blunt._

* * *

><p>Chapter V: Sam<p>

_Last weekend:_

Sam was surprised to find a paper-bag lunch in his backpack; he didn't remember putting anything in there this morning. Smiling at the example of his parents' love for him, he chomped down. It was only when a tickle materialized in the back of his throat that he took a closer look at the sandwich.

Wrapped between layers of lettuce and radish shavings were little pieces of shrimp.

Sam was allergic to shellfish, and in the middle of the cafeteria, clutched his throat in horror as his airway swelled shut.

* * *

><p><em>Present day:<em>

"Twenty-four hours?" Mike exploded. "Anything can happen in twenty-four hours!"

"Sebastian could shoot her in the back of the head and take her body to Mexico in twenty-four hours," Puck shot Officer Sarah Manda his death glare. "I mean, not that that's going to happen," he added hastily once he saw Mike's stricken expression.

Suddenly, the door behind them opened.

"Hello?" Tina said shyly. "I heard you were all looking for me."

"Tina!" Mike ran forward and glomped her.

"I need to take a couple of days off from school," Tina said listlessly. "I just found out I was adopted. I went home to talk to my parents, and they helped me come to terms with it, but I need a couple days off to recover."

"Okay," Mike backed off.

"Take all the time you need," Finn smiled encouragingly.

"Seriously, be cool," Puck nodded.

Only Sam stayed silent, looking ashamed.

* * *

><p><em>Last weekend:<em>

Sam was already in a foul mood, terrified of the strain his hospital bill was going to put on his parents' budget, when the last person he wanted to see walked in.

"I know about your family's…**unfortunate** situation," Sebastian said coolly. "Such a shame," he pulled up a chair. "Just when you were starting to get back on your feet, too," he leaned back in the chair, holding a checkbook in the hands he folded behind his head.

"Shut up," Sam growled.

"I can help, you know. I can make all that disappear," Sebastian suddenly leaned forward.

"Bullshit," Sam shot Sebastian a death glare.

"Not at all," Sebastian said innocently. "You have no idea how many zeros I can put on the end of my checks before my dad will even bat an eyelash. Like, say, this many?" He leaned down to write a number on a particular check—there was a picture of Voldemort in the corner, which didn't surprise Sam in the slightest—and held it up to Sam.

Sam's stomach and jaw dropped at the same time as the injustice of the situation hit him. How screwed up did a world have to be to let this asshole just toss around money like this, like it's **nothing**, when his parents had worked their entire lives and had…well, nothing. "I hate you," he said suddenly. "I fucking hate you, and everything you represent."

"I'm prepared to live with that," Sebastian said easily. "Are you?" he asked, grinning.

Sam was silent for a few seconds. Then he sighed, his head sagging in defeat. "What do you want me to do?"

"Easy," Sebastian grinned wider. "I want you to tell me everything about the New Directions and their parents."

Hating himself, Sam did. Later, he felt so bad that he had to comfort Kurt, if for no other reason than to alleviate his own guilt.

* * *

><p><em>Present day:<em>

Sebastian knocked on the door and crossed his fingers that his plan would work.

Pearl gestured him inside when she opened the door. "You're one of the Warblers, aren't you? Well, come inside!" she stepped back and asked for his name.

"Grant, ma'am," he said. "Grant Gustin. I'm new there."

Pearl smiled. "Well, Blaine's upstairs," she said, pointing down the hall where the stairs were situated.

"Thanks," Sebastian told her before walking upstairs and into the room.

Blaine was asleep, but the sound of Sebastian's shoes clunking against the steps woke him just in time to feel the switchblade being pressed against his wrist. He sat bolt upright, staring at Sebastian with wide, terrified eyes.

"Get out of my room!" Blaine said angrily.

"That was your mother downstairs, wasn't it?" Sebastian pulled the knife away and smiled innocently.

"Alright, alright, fine," Blaine said, holding his hands up in a peace-making gesture. "You can do whatever you want, okay? Just don't hurt my mother, and** stop hurting my friends**!"

"No, you listen to me," Sebastian's whisper was terrifying, and his breath burned Blaine's ear. "If I go down, the Warblers are going with me. You understand that, right? I'll get all of them expelled. They knew. They knew what I was doing and they helped me. They hate Kurt. They hate him for taking you away from them. So if you care about your 'friends,' the ones you so casually abandoned when they needed you—if you care about their lives, their futures—you'll keep quiet. And you'll convince your little toy to do the same."

"Fine," Blaine said tightly. "I'll keep quiet. I can't promise Kurt will, though."

"Oh, he will," Sebastian smiled. "You'll tell him that you don't feel safe at McKinley anymore, that you feel like you're going to puke every time you see a slushie, so now you're moving back to Dalton."

"I can't do that!" Blaine looked horrified.

"Really?" Sebastian stood, smirking. "Then you better be prepared for the consequences."

Blaine wondered what he meant.

* * *

><p>He didn't have long to find out. Santana's absence was spoken of in whispers all over the school. By the time Blaine got to Glee, he almost had a full-blown panic attack at not seeing her.<p>

"What's going on?" Blaine asked Brittany, who looked surprisingly upset.

"Her grandmother's sick. Her orange juice was bad," Brittany said.

Blaine wished the nut of nausea in his stomach was the result of the same.

* * *

><p>On Wednesday, it was Brittany who was missing.<p>

"I can't believe it," Santana said. "The day Abuela gets out of the hospital, Brittany's brakes are cut and she hits her little sister."

At Blaine's horrified gasp, Santana rolls her eyes. "Relax, Hobbit. She only broke her leg."

Blaine closed his eyes and feverishly wished that this was just a dream.

* * *

><p>Unfortunately, the next day, it continued. Puck's sister fell down a flight of stairs at the mall. Sarah swore she was pushed, but nobody remembered seeing anyone push her.<p>

She had broken her spine.

Blaine froze when he heard the news. First, Sam went into anaphylactic shock. Second, Santana's grandmother was poisoned. Then Brittany's car was tampered with. Now, Puck's sister might never be able to walk again. He trudged into Dalton later that day, mind made up.

"Where's Sebastian?" he asked a passing Warbler.

"I heard he's going to get his Porsche fixed," Jeff said.

Blaine paled. It was well-known in Ohio (mostly thanks to word-of-mouth by Prentiss and his mother) that Burt Hummel's shop was the best place to get one's car serviced. He hopped in his own car and drove like a madman toward his boyfriend's father's work, insanely glad that Pearl was close enough with the local police that they ignored his blatant speeding.

He caught them just in time. Sebastian smiled when he saw the shorter, sweatier Warbler poke his head in. "Hi Blaine," he smiled that smarmy smile Blaine hated so much.

"Sebastian," Blaine nodded. He waited until Sebastian was close to whisper, "I give," he said. "I won't press charges. I'll transfer. I'll do anything, okay? Just give me time to explain to Kurt first."

Sebastian smirked and nodded as if he was being gracious. "Alright," he said. "You have until I come back for my car," he said before walking out.

Blaine was at a loss when Sebastian purposefully clipped his shoulder on his way out. He turned to Burt with an almost crazy look on his face. "Where's Kurt?" he asked.

"He's doing his homework upstairs," Burt said, straightening. "Now, I don't know what that boy told you, but my gut tells me it isn't good," he began in an ominous tone. "I just want to know if you can keep my son safe."

"I can sir," Blaine's voice broke. "Can I go upstairs?"

Burt nodded his approval, and Blaine walked upstairs.

"Oh, hey Blaine!" Kurt grinned. "What are you doing here?"

"You know when sometimes you meet someone so beautiful," Blaine walked toward Kurt, who started blushing right away, "and then you actually talk with them, and five minutes later, they're as dull as a brick?" Kurt looked confused, but Blaine pressed on, refusing to even look at him. "But then there's other people, and you meet them and you think, 'Not bad; they're okay.' And then you get to know them, and their face sort of…becomes them, like their personality's written all over it, and they just…and they turn into something so beautiful." For the first time, Blaine looked at Kurt and lied through his teeth. "Sebastian's the most beautiful man I've ever met." Then Blaine walked out the door.

* * *

><p>The glee classroom was ablaze in whispers when Kurt arrived. "So, you've all heard then," he would have sighed dramatically had he not been so depressed.<p>

"That Blaine's transferred back to the Warblers? Hell yeah, we heard," Mercedes said.

"How are you doing, Kurt?" Tina asked sympathetically.

Kurt didn't know what his expression was at the moment, but it couldn't have been anything pleasant, because all the girls surrounded him.

Blaine was gone. Immediately, the tears started falling and he started to sing.

_Did I disappoint you, or let you down? Should I be feeling guilty, or let the judges frown?  
>'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun, yes I saw you were blinded, and I knew I had won.<em>

Sebastian saw Kurt's teary-eyed expression when he came back to pick up his car and shivered.

_So I took what's mine by eternal right, took your soul out into the night.  
>It may be over, but it won't stop there. I am here for you, if you'd only care.<em>

Blaine looked out the window, toward Kurt's house, and wondered if he even deserved to cry after causing his ex-boyfriend all that pain.

_You touched my heart, you touched my soul. You changed my life and all my goals.  
>And love is blind and that I knew when my heart was blinded by you.<em>

Kurt and Blaine's voices blended in perfect harmony.

_I've kissed your lips and held your hand, shared your dreams and shared your bed.  
>I know you well, I know your smell. I've been addicted to you.<em>

Sebastian looked at Blaine's face the next day, back in his blazer, and realized that he had taken everything that made Blaine so lovably **Blaine** away. When he sang, trying to picture Blaine singing with him, he could hear Kurt singing too.

_Goodbye my lover, goodbye my friend. You have been the one, you have been the one for me.  
>Goodbye my lover, goodbye my friend. You have been the one, you have been the one for me.<em>

Now Blaine only sang angry songs, or sad songs, and Sebastian and Kurt.

_I am a dreamer, and when I wake, you can't break my spirit. It's my dreams you take.  
>And as you move on, remember me. Remember us and all we used to be.<em>

Kurt wondered where it had all gone wrong and why his heart insisted on staying true to Blaine.

_I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile, I've watched you sleeping for a while.  
>I'd be the father of your child. I'd spend a lifetime with you.<em>

Sebastian hugged Blaine close to him some nights, trying to pretend that this was normal.

_I know your fears and you know mine. We've had our doubts but now we're fine.  
>And I love you, I swear that's true. I cannot live without you.<em>

The three boys were completely lost.

_Goodbye my lover, goodbye my friend. You have been the one, you have been the one for me.  
>Goodbye my lover, goodbye my friend. You have been the one, you have been the one for me.<em>

Every morning when Kurt woke up from yet another wonderful dream where he and Blaine were together, he'd wonder, just for a second where his boyfriend was.

_And I still hold your hand in mine, in mine when I'm asleep._

Blaine swore that this mess would end soon.

_And I will bare my soul in time, when I'm kneeling at your feet._

Blaine and Kurt continued going to the Lima Bean, but only one time each, because not seeing the other there was just too painful.

_Goodbye my lover, goodbye my friend. You have been the one, you have been the one for me._

Sebastian knew this was a fake relationship. But he so badly wanted a real one.

_I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow. I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow.  
><em>_I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow. I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow._

* * *

><p>"Hey, Blaine, Quantico's calling me about a rash of murders in the D.C. area," Pearl leaned down to kiss her son. "You don't mind staying on your own for a bit, do you? It's just this weekend."<p>

"No," Blaine didn't care. There wasn't enough of him left.

"Okay," Pearl gave him a hug and took something out of her pocket. It was a plastic red lion dangling on a gold chain. She clasped it around Blaine's neck and looked at him somberly. "If you need help, ever, you can press the lion's eyes. There's a GPS in it so you can always be located. The left eye turns on the thing that records sound, and the right eye sends a signal to the nearest hospital." With that, Pearl picked up her overnight bag and walked out to take a flight to northern Virginia. Not five minutes later, Blaine's phone rang, and he answered it.

"Sebastian," he said.

"Oh, come on," Sebastian wheedled. "You can be nicer to your boyfriend than that, Blaine-y Bear!"

"I'm not your boyfriend, I'm your boy-toy," Blaine deadpanned. "What do you want?"

Sebastian grew silent for a moment. "Nothing," he suddenly lied easily. "Why don't you come over?" he asked. "Or I could go to you."

"My mother's out," Blaine said in a lifeless tone. "I haven't told her I broke up with Kurt because of you, and I would really like to stay in my house so I feel safer."

"Fine," Sebastian said. "I'll be there in twenty. Be naked on the couch by the time I'm there."

Blaine hung up. That gave him just enough time to eat. He touched the lion under the collar of his shirt, wishing the lion could save him from this, but he doubted danger of the emotions were what his mother was thinking of when she thought to save him.

* * *

><p>"So, what do you want to do first?" Sebastian fingered the tip of Blaine's ear seductively. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" Sebastian's voice took a sharp turn toward the frightened. Blaine's eyes snapped open as he wondered why.<p>

Suddenly, he rose. "What are you so scared of?" Blaine asked.

Sebastian's eyes widened for a second before a distant look dulled them. His smarmy smile came back over his face. "That I might not be getting a piece of your ass today, Anderson."

"Blaine, my name's Blaine, okay? And my mother's kind of what you'd call a criminal profiler, and I've picked up a thing or two about reading other people's body language," Blaine echoed.

Sebastian's smirk wilted, but didn't disappear completely. "Please, continue. I'd love to hear what else you think about me."

Blaine looked at Sebastian for a time long enough to have the rest of the smirk fall off, and decided that deceit was the only option. "I don't have anything else to say."

Sebastian's smile returned, and above the cocky grin were a pair of eyes so relieved, they were almost teary. "Great. What do you say we ditch the crapple juice and I show you why I like Courvoisier in coffee so much at my place?"

"Fine," Blaine said, thinking of his lion. _I'm not really getting myself into trouble_, he reasoned. _I've got a way of calling for help if it gets out of hand._

* * *

><p><em>"On My Way" really made me think about Sebastian as an actual human. I've watched the episode at least three times by now, and the second time I saw it, I stopped cheering every time Kurt mentioned Sebastian's giant horse teeth.<em>

_Every time I write something, I try to include some sort of lesson that I think is important. This story had a different one at first, but I think the idea that even the people we hate are human deserves to be mentioned first. I know I have a habit of demonizing people. But just because someone down the hall from me always leaves the toilet seat up doesn't mean he's a misogynist monster. So I gave Sebastian a reason to hate life, hate himself (in true Lori style), and to mistrust everyone else._

_The "most beautiful man I've ever met" speech was copied and pasted from Amy Pond in the most recent series of _Doctor Who_, in an episode called "The Girl Who Waited." It's a beautiful speech and an amazingly touching scene._


	6. Blaine

_Be aware of the changed rating, please. And if you think you might get triggered, when you see song lyrics not preceded by the title or a line break, you should skip ahead to the next line break. I'm not kidding. I got a little triggered writing this._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Cough Syrup" by Young the Giant._

* * *

><p>Chapter VI: Blaine<p>

_Life's too short to even care at all, oh.__  
><em>_I'm losing my mind, losing my mind, losing control._

"Well, here we are," Sebastian's hands shook has he killed the engine, something which Blaine didn't leave alone.

"Is something wrong?" Blaine asked.

"Just fucking come inside already," Sebastian growled.

Blaine walked inside, not entirely sure what was going on.

"Hey, dad, this is my boyfriend, Blaine Anderson," Sebastian introduced the two.

Mr. Smythe entered the room, and Blaine felt a chill. He had thought Sebastian, who was about half a foot taller than himself, was intimidating? Sebastian's eyes may have been full of slyness and resentment, but all that was nothing compared to his Damon Smythe's cold, calculating eyes. Blaine actually took a step back, and noticed and Sebastian didn't get within two feet of his father, despite being a good two inches taller.

"So, you're Anderson," Damon looked Blaine up and down in a way Blaine wasn't fully comfortable with. "You'll do."

_Do wha_t?Blaine wondered.

"Come on," Sebastian tugged Blaine outside. "Let's go shopping, I could use a few more jeans."

"You go to Dalton," Blaine reminded him. "You'll never get the chance to wear them." And was that a note of dry hysteria in Sebastian's voice?

"Blaine, Blaine, Blaine," Sebastian's voice was about half an octave higher than normal, "schools have this wonderful thing called a weekend. Ever heard of it?"

"There's this other wonderful thing called courtesy," Blaine muttered. "What's going on?"

Sebastian refused to answer. He simply drove Blaine back to his house. "Where's your mother?"

"She said she'd be in Virginia this weekend, which means she'll be gone for a week," Blaine rolled his eyes. Nothing against his mother, but she could keep track of time about as well as she could cook.

"Oh, so you're throwing parties for the New Directions all this week?" Sebastian queried.

Blaine shot him a dirty look. "No. Thanks to you forcing me to break up with Kurt, they want nothing more to do with me."

"No one to know you're gone," Sebastian felt a pang, knowing that the all-too familiar loneliness on Blaine's face was his doing.

"Nope," Blaine leaned his forehead against the window and closed his eyes. Sebastian pretended not to see the tear trickle down his cheek.

Sebastian was lucky when he drove back; his father had left a note on the door saying that there was a surprise merger to be performed. The boy sighed in relief. Even if he wasn't going to be able to sleep in the house tonight, he would at least be safe from his father's wrath.

However, he wasn't so fortunate the next night.

* * *

><p><em>If I could find a way to see this straight, I'd run away<br>__To some fortune that I should have found by now_

_I'm waiting for this cough syrup to come down, come down._

"Where's your boyfriend?" Damon demanded when he found the room he fittingly dubbed "The Dungeon" empty of any living people.

"When I said I wanted him to go downstairs with me, he said he was tired and wanted me to take him home," Sebastian lied. The truth was, Blaine was curious about The Dungeon. Apparently, Sebastian had been eyeing the door down to the garage nervously. Blaine was too perceptive for his own good, and Sebastian wasn't a monster, no matter what he wanted people to believe.

"Well, that's too bad, isn't it?" Damon made a "tut-tut" sound with his tongue and Sebastian gulped. He knew what was going to happen as Damon opened the door to The Dungeon. Sebastian walked toward it, willing his legs to stop shaking. "Next time, Bas, you show him who's boss."

* * *

><p><em>Life's too short to even care at all oh.<em>_  
><em>_I'm coming up now, coming up now out of the blue.__  
><em>_These zombies in the park, they're looking for my heart, oh.__  
><em>_A dark world aches for a splash of the sun, oh._

Sebastian's first reaction to his phone ringing was to pick it up and throw it somewhere. Then he realized that it was Blaine on the other end and answered.

"Hello?" the pain caught in his throat, and he clenched his teeth, biting so hard that his jaw hurt, which couldn't have been more welcome if Sebastian had asked it to. It was a distraction from the searing, incessant throb in his face and what felt like a blade grinding against his ass. He sat up and stiffened against the pain to reach for a bottle of vodka. Alcohol was an ample temptation given what his father had just done (and had done) to him, but he had to resist.

"Sebastian, are you okay?" Blaine's tone was a hundred perfect concern and he couldn't handle that right now.

"I'll be a lot better once I'm on top of you," Sebastian said, working hard to dismiss every flinch of pain from his voice. By the time he walked out the front door, dressed sharply, no one could tell that his back and face were causing him such shrill agony.

Blaine sighed. "Must we do this today?"

"It's either you or your mother, Blaine-y Bear," Sebastian had checked his computer monitor the other day. "I wonder how much it would cost to install cameras in the rooms of the Holiday Inn Hotel," he threatened easily. "I wouldn't even need to use Photoshop."

Blaine stopped breathing, then he started to beg. "Sebastian, please, please leave my mother alone," he sounded like he was going to cry, and Sebastian felt a piece of his heart soften. Great, now he could feel, and he didn't feel very good.

"Tell you what, Blaine," Sebastian said. "You let me go over and have my fun, maybe I call my friends off. Fair?" he chuckled.

"I'll be naked and on the couch," Blaine said resignedly.

When Sebastian heard Blaine hang up, he felt a momentary pang that even Blaine, soft-hearted and brave enough to take a slushie for Kurt, wouldn't offer Sebastian his bed. It was always the couch. With everyone, it was the couch, and after he had gone to all that trouble to protect Blaine from his dad, too! This thought angered him until he walked into the room and, upon seeing Blaine naked and unmoving on the couch, began to hit him until Blaine was crying out in pain, thrashing to dislodge Sebastian's blows against his stomach, but not outright hitting back because he didn't want to hurt anyone else, even in self-defense. Then Sebastian landed a hard blow against Blaine's face and the shorter boy stopped struggling until he felt something clamp down on his wrist—handcuffs on his wrists and ankles, binding him to the heavy lamp on the side of the couch, near where his head rested.

Sebastian saw Blaine examining the metal cuffs and wanted to discourage the thought of escape. It would involve some scraping and pain, but Sebastian had no doubts that Blaine's too-skinny wrists could wriggle out of them as easily as Sebastian's. So Sebastian's hand reached for that sensitive area around the ribs, jabbing a nail into Blaine's side. It must have hurt a lot, because Blaine suddenly writhed away from the touch. Now Blaine was focusing on getting away from the pain, and not trying to escape, so Sebastian leaned his full weight into his fingers until Blaine tensed.

"Stop fighting me," Sebastian said, digging the nail painfully beneath Blaine's rib.

Blain looked up stiffly, defiantly. "Do what you want, Sebastian. Hurt me, rape me, whatever you need to do to pretend like you're still in control of your own life."

Sebastian wanted to laugh. When did Anderson get such courage? He rewarded Blaine's bravery with a hard fist to the gut. "Don't worry, I'll make it romantic for you," Sebastian hated seeing how unmarked Blaine was. There were no fresh wounds, only some old scars. Sure, the scars were terrifying, but Sebastian was terrified as he went around lighting candles. "You're mine, alright? Your comfort depends on how nice I feel, and right now, I feel like hurting you," he said before assaulting Blaine's groin with his knee once, twice, and a sharp nip on those broad shoulders. When he looked Blaine in the eye, there was no fear.

_If I could find a way to see this straight, I'd run away__  
><em>_To some fortune that I should have found by now.__  
><em>_And so I run now to the things they said could restore me,__  
><em>_Restore life the way it should be.__  
><em>_I'm waiting for this cough syrup to come down._

**[If you think you'll get triggered, skip ahead to the next line break now]**

There was, however, the scent of sandalwood before Blaine cried out sharply as a drop of searing wax landed on his chest. He arched his back and strained his bound arms trying to get away. Sebastian could see that he was panting hard and felt a bit of pity. No, stop, it wasn't his job to take care of Blaine. Sebastian held the candle above Blaine, letting the smaller boy anticipate the next drop of wax. Blaine started to tremble before Sebastian tilted the candle and the liquid splashed against Blaine's stomach, causing him to cry out and arch his back again, unable to escape the burn. The wax was poured over a dark nipple. Blaine hissed and jerked, biting his lip at the pain. The candle was tilted and a fiery trail led down Blaine's left hip. Sebastian smiled at the way Blaine groaned through gritted teeth, panting raggedly from pain. Sebastian put the candle on Blaine's thigh and walked out. Blaine looked like he panicked, thinking he would be abandoned and struggling hard enough to give himself burns on the cuffs. Sebastian came back to catch the candle as it tipped over, not wanting anyone to die, but there was still enough wax released to create a sharp stab of pain on the sensitive area of Blaine's inner thigh. He didn't like seeing that beautiful face contorting, unless it was in fear, which it currently wasn't.

"Are you ready to beg?" Sebastian asked. He wasn't a rapist; he got consent first, even if he asked with his hand on Blaine's length, tightening sharply and ruthlessly and causing a sharp pain. Sebastian let go and scraped his teeth lightly on Blaine's length, causing Blaine to jerk, but Blaine knew that struggling would hurt badly. He just didn't know that not struggling would hurt just as badly.

The hot wax was dripped on Blaine's penis, and the boy bucked violently, screaming, straining, and shuddering in pain. But there was still no fear. Blaine still trusted that he would do the right thing, even after the slushie and after all of this.

So Sebastian lost his nerve. Yes, this would prepare Blaine for what Damon had in mind later, but Sebastian wasn't a monster like his father. He stroked Blaine's face while the boy tried to ride it out, tears soaking the pillow beneath him. "Tell me about Kurt," he said suddenly, trying to distract Blaine from the pain until it passed.

"He's strong," Blaine jerked as Sebastian picked off the pieces of dried wax, exposing the pink flesh underneath. "He's the smartest boy I've ever met."

"That's nice," Sebastian said. Blaine actually sank his abused body into Sebastian's chest. Clearly, he succumbed to gentle treatment much more easily than sexual torture. Something tightened in Sebastian's heart. Oh, right, his ribs.

"Come on, we have to go," Sebastian said. "My dad wants me to do the laundry downstairs in my house, and I need help," he got up gruffly.

"Only if I drive," Blaine said. Sebastian had to brace himself before tossing the shorter boy the keys. It was for the best. Besides, he could barely see straight.

God, his arm was killing him. He must have landed on it wrong at some point, and unfortunately he had no painkillers right now. His head pounded, making it difficult to focus on anything but the pain, which definitely could not show up on his face. At the very least, he would have to lure Blaine downstairs before he could start rubbing his arm and head as though they pained him.

"What are you looking at?" Sebastian growled at Blaine, the pain biting through his tone.

"Nothing," Blaine said, still driving.

"Ugh," Sebastian ignored Blaine until they got to his house. "You know what, forget it," he said, making a snap decision that was probably going to cost him. "Get out of my car and take a bus home."

"Fine," Blaine snapped back. Sebastian was too out of it to notice that it was about half an octave lower than Blaine usually spoke, and just got out of his car to face his father.

* * *

><p><em>Life's too short to even care at all, oh.<em>_  
><em>_I'm losing my mind, losing my mind, losing control._

Blaine knew something was going on. On the way here, he had taken a few extra-sharp turns, and each time, he noticed that Sebastian was definitely gritting his teeth, and the strain was visible on his brow. Even when they were back in Blaine's house, all he could think about was the pain in Sebastian's voice, covered with his usual unapologetic attitude. So he lied. He didn't go get a bus; he sat in the car and waited. He wasn't sure what he was waiting for, but he knew he wasn't leaving before he got it. Anticipating violence, he unclasped his necklace.

He didn't wait long. Screams of "Please don't make me go down there!" emanated from inside the house, prompting Blaine to run out of the car and to the door, which, to his horror, was locked.

"Hey, open the door!" he yelled.

Miraculously, the door opened.

Horrifyingly, it was Damon who opened it, clutching the back of his paling son's collar in a strangulations hold.

"Let go of him," Blaine demanded. Damon did, and Blaine caught Sebastian as he fell.

Now the other side of Sebastian's face looked painful, and Blaine knew exactly why. He glared at the man briefly before turning back to Sebastian. Damon tugged sharply on his arm, dragging Blaine down to whatever horror Sebastian had been so scared of.

* * *

><p>Sebastian stared after Blaine. He had been so sure that whatever happened to him had been the universe's fault, never his. But now he wasn't so sure. Blaine didn't blame Sebastian at all; how could Sebastian blame him? For that matter, how could he blame anybody…except his father? Decision made, Sebastian walked back inside.<p>

* * *

><p><em>I think I just made Lima, Ohio, the worst place to be a teenage boy ever (unless you're not Kurt, Blaine, or Sebastian).<em>

_Alright, next time, you see what's exactly what Sebastian was so scared of. Trust me, if you think you might get triggered, you won't want to read it._


	7. Sebastian

_Okay, I'm going to confess that I have no idea what I'm doing in this chapter. But I do know that nobody is completely evil. Everyone human has something sympathetic about them, and if you can keep that in mind and take advantage of it, you can befriend those who might otherwise be abhorrent._

_I'm going to re-warn you guys that this can be pretty triggering, so if you think you'll get triggered, skip everything between the first and second set of song lyrics (the lyrics that aren't just single lines), or even skip the entire chapter, since it keeps referencing that part. I'll include a short summary at the end of the chapter._

* * *

><p>Chapter VII: Sebastian<p>

_One year and two days ago:_

If Sebastian had to go to one more of these stupid galas, where his father mixed and mingled with Ohio's finest (and kinkiest, but no one talked about that) he was going to scream. In fact, he did scream, mostly because he walked into a waitress who looked at most twenty, holding a tray of scalding-hot soup.

"Shit!" the young woman cursed, then scrambled up. "Are you okay?" she asked, despite the fact that her chest (what Sebastian could see of it, anyway) was an inflamed red and her distinctly un-waitress-like dress was drenched in what looked like uncomfortable patterns.

"My father is going to kill me," he muttered, getting up and slipping so that he landed hard on his sore ass. "This suit's a rental."

"Don't worry about it," the young woman offered her hand and helped him up. "You can blame it all on me if you want."

"That'll never work," Sebastian said.

"I can see that," she said, staring at a point past Sebastian's shoulder. He turned around and saw his father's angry glare being masked by a thin veneer of shallow concern. Before he could cower and trip over his tongue, explaining, the young woman grabbed him and jerked him to a back room, saying just loudly enough for Damon to hear, "You're going to come fix the mess you caused." But when they got to the back room, instead of finding mops, Sebastian found bandages and first aid kits and some sort of soothing ointment that was skillfully applied to his red and swollen hand.

"What was that look?" she asked.

"What do you mean? He was angry," Sebastian wondered if he looked as nervous as he felt. He hoped not.

"He wasn't just angry," the maybe-waitress-maybe-not retorted. "I know angry, and he looked like he was going to hurt you."

Sebastian shrugged. "Who cares?"

"I do," she said.

Sebastian was angry enough to smack her arm. "What can you do? You're just the help! My father's lawyers will crush you!"

"Oh, the soup," the woman shrugged. "One of the waitresses twisted her ankle. I helped her get ice on it and promised to take over for her."

Sebastian's heart opened a little. If this woman was willing to help someone she had never met, maybe she would be willing to help him too. So he spilled his life story and watched the woman's face grow grimmer and grimmer.

"If what you say is true, sir, then I will contact the police right away," the woman said. "I'm friends with the chief of the Philly PD, and I **will** get things done."

But someone must have tipped his father off, because the next day, Damon booked a red-eye flight to his brother in Paris. As the taxi drove Sebastian to the airport, it passed by a large, imposing black SUV. Sebastian saw that woman driving, and one year later, he would meet her again and decide to hit her where it would hurt—her son.

* * *

><p><em>Present Day:<em>

The first thing Damon noticed was that Blaine was defiant. He wasn't like Sebastian, willing to do whatever his father said as long as it didn't get him beaten. Well, that meant that the first guy, who requested a bathtub, and whom Damon knew was the harshest, would have the honor of breaking Blaine's spirit.

"You have thirty minutes to do whatever you want, but you get to keep the tape forever," he told his first customer of the night as he set up the camera. Then he left. He couldn't be charged if he had no idea what was going on.

* * *

><p><em>If I could find a way to see this straight I'd run away<br>To some fortune that I should have found by now._

No, no, no, Blaine did not want this. He didn't want to be chained to a bathtub as some strange man came over him. This was all too reminiscent of his past. He closed his eyes and tried to pretend that he wasn't here. But this time, he couldn't quite find his happy place.

And then someone pushed inside him, hard and brutal, groaning while Blaine screamed and arched his body from the pain. The cries of agony only made the man drive into Blaine harder. Each yelp and groan of pain grew more and more desperate and hoarse. Blaine began to jerk—partly in pain, partly to fight the man off—but all that happened was the man jerking his arm painfully back, twisting it until Blaine could swear it had been ripped off. And yet Blaine was still fighting, still bucking up against the man despite the pain, so his head was forced under the water. The boy stiffened, then strained against the pain, and after a few more brutal, forceful thrusts, the man let him up for air. Blaine's brutalized, bruised body was then pulled out, sputtering and choking, out of the tub by none other than Sebastian Smythe.

"Sebas-? What?" he coughed out, unable to form a coherent syllable.

"Alright, you're done here," Sebastian told Mr. Thanatos. "Take your tape and leave," he threw the small cassette tape at the man and walked over to Blaine with a washcloth. As gently as he knew how, he wiped the blood off.

"Let me out, Sebastian," Blaine said hotly.

"I can't do that, okay?" Sebastian looked more terrified than Blaine had ever seen him. "I don't have the key." _And I don't want to be in your position._

"Why are you doing this then?" Blaine nodded to Sebastian's hands.

"Because I know how bad it hurts," Sebastian said, looking directly at Blaine with completely honesty for the first time.

"Is this what he does to you?" Blaine asked with dawning awareness. He had known something was off. He just didn't know it was this bad.

"Not always," Sebastian answered evasively. "Not since, you know, I started bringing other people over."

Blaine nodded. "I see," he said. Suddenly, upstairs there was yelling and Sebastian froze, terror shining in his eyes.

"Look through my clothes," Blaine stopped Sebastian by grabbing his hand tightly and got his attention. "You'll find this necklace. You have to press on the eyes, okay?" he said.

"You should've run," Sebastian tried to catch his breath, clutching his ribs. "He would have killed me this time."

"Exactly!" Blaine hissed. "Now, you need to press the eyes, okay? Press the eyes, a hospital will send an ambulance, and my mother will know where you are."

"Stop being so noble," Sebastian insisted, tugging on Blaine's shirt.

"Stop being so ignoble," Blaine hissed.

_So I run now to the things they said could restore me  
>Restore life the way it should be<br>I'm waiting for this cough syrup to come down_

Sebastian dropped the washcloth and grabbed Blaine's clothes from where they were scattered on the floor just as his father cleared his throat from above him. Suddenly, a loud crack split the air and both Smythes turned to see Blaine tug his broken hand out of the cuffs that bound him to the tub and charge Damon. Sebastian got up slowly, mindful of his injuries, and ran out of there. The sounds of flesh striking flesh told him that Damon had struck Blaine as hard as he could, and the sound of Blaine's voice, in genuine pain, rubbed him raw, much like the sound of Damon calling someone back down the dungeon to "finish what he started" and "get his money's worth."

Sebastian turned and ran out the front door while everyone else was occupied and dove into his car. Once he felt like he had driven far enough away from his house, he took out the toy lion in Blaine's pocket. It was a cheap little toy, probably worth less than the sum of its materials. Still, he could see why Blaine would want to poke it in the eyes. Sebastian wondered if the toy would let out a delightful, high-pitched squeal of pain when he did that.

It didn't. It didn't do anything. Sebastian was so angry, he threw the toy against the windshield and it cracked. It was just as broken and weak as him, except they both appeared whole. Suddenly, Sebastian was exhausted. It was as if that one action had drained him of all his energy. Something warm grew against his cheek. Part Sebastian's brain recognized that it was his blood, just flowing in a different direction. He wondered how much blood he had lost, and whether or not he was going into shock right now. Actually, he didn't care about that either. He lacked the energy to even crawl into the backseat, so he put his face against the steering wheel.

When Sebastian woke up, he was on a stage. A band appeared behind him, and he was Blaine. Okay, this was definitely not waking up. He supposed this was Blaine's fantasy, Blaine's happy place, a way to get away from all the things that were probably being done to him right now. He hoped that his being here didn't mean Blaine couldn't be there. A band behind him played, and he was shaken awake.

"Who are you, and why do you have this?" the woman Sebastian recognized as Blaine's mother demanded, slapping his face gently.

"He gave it to me," Sebastian was surprised at how weak he sounded. He hoped he never sounded like that again. "He, please, he needs help."

The woman said something else, but her voice was drowned out by sirens in the background, then by the sounds of a song Sebastian was singing under calm blue lighting.

_One more spoon of cough syrup now._

* * *

><p>"If that's true, Sebastian, then we need to find your father, and we need to get my son out of there," Pearl said, helping him up. "Come on, I have to take you to the hospital."<p>

"No," Sebastian fought her off. "You don't get it! Father won't let me go if he sees me in the hospital with a stranger; he'll kill me this time. And in the meantime, what do you think he's going to do to Blaine?"

"We can go to a judge right now. I can call the police, file an arrest warrant, and in the meantime, find Blaine," Blaine's mother tried weakly.

Sebastian chuckled. "He's going to contest the warrant, and then it could be days before you get Blaine back," he swayed a little where he stood. "Seriously, the best thing to do right now is to just let me go back in and get Blaine."

"I can't let you do that," Pearl bit her lip. It was one thing to risk her own life for her son. It was quite another to risk someone else's, especially when she knew there was a far bigger chance of both boys dying.

"I can tell you what he did to me, and while I'm doing that, you can remind yourself that it's what he's probably doing to your son while you're running around trying to do things the legal way," Sebastian panted, looking up at her.

Pearl sighed. "I'm going to drive you back to your house," she said, "then I'm going to drive to my friend's house, drop off my badge, and break into the house after you while she calls the police. If I'm not involved in the investigation, your dad can't claim conflict of interest. Now, Sebastian," when she turned to the boy she saw someone who could help her instead of someone who needed her help, "what do you need me to do?"

* * *

><p>Stupid camera. Stupid, stupid camera.<p>

* * *

><p>Pearl was shaking as she carefully maneuvered Blaine toward the door, allowing her son to pull his soaked (not just bathwater, was it?) pants back up. Only then was he aware of screaming upstairs. He began to tremble. "What's going on up there?" he asked, turning to look at his mother.<p>

Pearl pressed a hand over his eyes. "Don't look, Blaine. Don't look at Sebastian, don't look at me, and for goodness sake, don't look at the man who were threatening to have sex with you! And if anyone asks, I didn't do it, okay? Just like I'm totally not doing what I'm going to do to Sebastian's father as soon as you're in the car."

"Mother, what are you talking about?" Blaine asked, terrified. "What do you mean, don't look at Sebastian? I thought he left."

Pearl paused, and Blaine took advantage of her momentary hesitation and broke free, only to find the second most horrifying sight he had ever laid eyes on.

* * *

><p>Sebastian turned away from the sight downstairs, knowing his father was due to hear the ruckus at any minute. He swallowed hard when his eyes fell on his father's favorite hunting trophy. It was a rare stuffed fish's head, easily breakable, which was exactly what he was going to do now. His hands shook as he picked up a lug wrench and smashed it against the fish's mouth. The crash was horrendous and brought Damon upstairs, where his eyes narrowed at the extent of the damage Sebastian had done.<p>

"What on Earth are you doing?" he demanded.

"I'm keeping you from doing something stupid," Sebastian glared. "Who's down there?" he nodded toward the stairs. "The rope guy?" he shook his arm so that his sleeve would reveal thick scars on his arms, where they had been rubbed raw. "The water guy again?" he sneered. "The fire guy?" his voice grew soft as he remembered what he had done.

"Sebastian, you shut up and go find me somebody for-"

"No, Father! I'm done!" Sebastian roared. "Tyler, J.P., Jon, Jake…I let you have them because they were assholes to me! But Blaine was nice. When I tried to attack his boyfriend, he jumped out in front of him to protect him! He forgave me. When I tried to attack him for real, he just let me, to try to protect his friends again! And when I started to cry, because I couldn't do it and it wasn't fair, he actually comforted me. He has more reason to hate me than you ever have, and he's been nicer to me that you ever have been and probably ever will."

"You put down that lug wrench and listen to me!" Damon responded.

Sebastian swung it at his father's head instead. A combination of concussion and blood loss kept him from actually making contact. Instead, Damon grabbed the lug wrench and raised it above his head. Sebastian's legs gave out and he cowered, only to see Damon turn around and hit Blaine in the side, knocking the boy all the way across the room.

Somehow, Sebastian got back up again and jumped on his father's back. Damon shrugged him off, only to have a woman far too strong for her 120-pound frame to attack him head-on. He swung the lug wrench over and over, but it was like damaging a corpse; it seemed to make no difference to her, but she was making a huge difference to him with her hands around his neck.

"Pearl!" Blaine cried.

Pearl let go and Damon massaged his damaged, almost completely-crushed throat. When the woman turned back to Blaine, the boy was looking at her with something akin to horror in his eyes. She had lost him.

_One more spoon of cough syrup now. Oh-oh, oh-oh._

* * *

><p><em>Yeah, here we are. "Damon" means "to tame," which was what he was doing to Blaine. "Thanatos" is the personification of death, and you'll see why I chose that name next chapter. Damon runs an illegal child porn operation in his basement. Sebastian's job, if he doesn't want to be in those videos, is to find other people to be in them. He wanted to seduce Blaine into the operation because he thought Blaine would survive it for longer and he could relax for a while, but realized that Blaine was a good person and tried to keep him out. Blaine overheard Sebastian being taken downstairs and ran in to help him, so now he was bound to the bathtub as a customer named Mr. Thanatos does what he paid for. Sebastian feels guilty and goes back in to kick Thanatos out and clean Blaine up, but Thanatos complains to Damon and Sebastian has to run when both men come downstairs. Sebastian gets Blaine's lion and Pearl comes back. They form a plan where she goes down to take care of Thanatos and Sebastian takes care of his father.<em>

_Next time, David Mele ("mele" means "singer" in Hawaiian, where Titus, the actor who plays David, is from) makes an unexpected decision, and Pearl realizes she got a little carried away with the violence._

_And yes, there is a reason that Blaine called her "Pearl" and not 'Mother."_


	8. David

_Well, here we are, the eighth chapter, completely different than where I thought we would be. After I saw "On My Way," I decided to stop making Sebastian a monster. (If anyone wants to see what I planned for Sebastian had OMW not changed my mind, you can PM or request them in a review. If I get enough requests, I'll post the alternate chapters after this story is over._

_And for those of you wondering when I'm going to update Fifteen, I've decided to finish the prequel, Tesseraction, before I continue with it, otherwise it'll get too confusing._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Here's to Us" by Halestorm._

* * *

><p>Chapter VIII: David<p>

"Are you sure you're alright?" Dr. Fawhinki asked.

Sebastian nodded listlessly.

"Well, your head is healing pretty fast," the doctor said. "I'll discharge you soon."

"Whom to?" Sebastian asked bitterly.

"There's a woman outside who's been waiting to see you."

"She has a son."

"The curly-haired boy?" Dr. Fawhinki shook her head. "Can't be. He's refusing to look at her."

Sebastian looked at Dr. Fawhinki with something akin to horror. "So great," he said. "That's two families I broke up."

"Oh, come on now, honey, that's no way to talk."

"It's true," Sebastian glared. "I think I'd like you to leave now."

No sooner had Dr. Fawhinki walked out than Pearl walked in.

"Your son hates you," he said, relishing the pain in her eyes and the guilt in his soul. He wanted to hurt himself as much as he had hurt her.

"I was too violent," Pearl said sadly.

"I want you to leave," Sebastian said.

"I don't want you to be alone."

"That's stupid."

"You're stupid!" Pearl exploded. "You were in Paris for a year! You could have told your uncle! You were at Dalton! You could have told the staff! But no, you have to get my son involved. Do you know what that man did to him in the bathtub, how much pain he caused?"

"Probably the same thing he did to me on a bed and how much pain he caused me," Sebastian didn't know why he was still burning bridges.

Pearl gave a frustrated growl and rose to leave. Sebastian breathed a regretful sigh of relief, but then she said, "Don't get excited. I can't look at you, but I **am** going to get someone who can."

And who should enter but Santana?

* * *

><p>"I can't believe that man!" Kurt seethed, looking at Blaine's prone form on the bed.<p>

"Hey, I've still got a few buddies in prison," Puck said, cracking his knuckles. "You just say the word, Kurt, and he's dead meat."

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked Kurt gently.

Kurt shook his head, but added, "You guys should be comforting Blaine right now, not me. He's the one in a medically induced coma."

"You know what we need right now?" Rachel suddenly clapped her hands. "A good song."

Everyone in the room, save Finn, snorted. Undeterred, Rachel stood up on a chair and belted out the first song that came to mind.

_We could just go home right now, or maybe we could stick around  
>For just one more drink, oh yeah.<em>

Finn walked next to her and held her hand as he sang.

_Get another bottle out. Let's shoot the breeze, sit back down  
>For just one more drink, oh yeah.<em>

Rachel and Finn began to sing together.

_Here's to us. Here's to love. All the times that we messed up.  
>Here's to you, fill the glass, 'cause the last few days have gone too fast.<br>So let's give 'em hell, wish everybody well.  
>Here's to us. Here's to us.<em>

Tina unexpectedly came inside and started to sing as well.

_Stuck it out this far together, put our dreams through the shredder.  
>Let's toast, 'cause things got better.<em>

Mike, relieved, walked over to give her a hug and sang to her.

_And everything could change like that, and all these years go by so fast  
>But nothing lasts forever.<em>

Tina and Mike sang together, holding hands. Tina smiled.

_Here's to us. Here's to love. All the times that we messed up.  
>Here's to you, fill the glass, 'cause the last few days have gone too fast.<br>If they give you hell, tell 'em to forget themselves.  
>Here's to us. Here's to us.<em>

Blaine began to sing too. Quietly, at first, but his voice grew stronger.

_Here's to all that we kissed and to all that we missed  
>To the biggest mistakes that we just wouldn't trade.<em>

Kurt let out a relieved, happy, angry, sad sob and clasped Blaine's hand tightly in his.

_To us breaking up without us breaking down  
>To whatever's coming our way.<em>

The boys put their foreheads together.

_Here's to us. Here's to us._

Suddenly, everyone began to sing together

_Here's to us. Here's to love. All the times that we messed up._

Down the hall, Santana walked into Sebastian's room and squeezed his hand.

_Here's to you, fill the glass, 'cause the last few days have gone too fast._

Brittany, back in her room with the New Directions, sang strongly.

_So let's give 'em hell, wish everybody well._

Santana's echo of "Well!" could be heard over the New Directions.

_Here's to us. Here's to love. All the times that we messed up.  
>Here's to you, fill the glass, 'cause the last few days have gone too fast.<br>If they give you hell, tell 'em to forget themselves.  
>Here's to us. Here's to us.<em>

Now the New Directions echoed Puck's chorus.

_Here's to us (here's to us). Oh here's to us (here's to us).  
>Here's to us. Here's to love (here's to us). Wish everybody well.<em>

A few rooms away, Santana's grandmother woke up.

_Here's to us. Here's to love. Here's to us._

"Here's to us," Sebastian sang quietly. His heart opened a little.

* * *

><p>David Mele was known as the <em>fun<em> Warbler. Whenever Wes got too strict or too mad with power, he would be the one to remind Wes that the point of singing was to have _fun_ and take a break, not just another chore to add to a long list.

But when Sebastian was missing, _fun_ was the last thing on David's mind.

"I can't believe this," Thad said, tossing his jacket in a way that would have made Wes wince had he still been around. "I guess he finally took our advice and left."

"No," David shook his head. See, being the _fun_ Warbler meant that people hung around him more, and he grew familiar with their mannerisms. "He would have said something. He would have changed."

"Maybe he heard about Dave Karofsky's suicide," Nick suggested.

David paled. "He killed himself?"

"You didn't hear?" Trent asked, surprised. "I thought Kurt would have told you."

The, "Aren't you still friends with Kurt?" went unvoiced, but not unasked, and David shook his head. "I-I have to go," he said, unsure, and left.

* * *

><p>"How are you feeling?" Emma asked kindly, laying down a tray of tea and cookies. "My parents always made this for me when I wasn't feeling well," she explained when he didn't answer. "They're macaroons," she held up a cookie. "You like them, don't you?"<p>

Blaine nodded, but held up a hand to keep Emma from feeding him. "I'm not hungry right now," he said.

"Well, do you want something to drink? Tea with honey is supposed to be good for your voice," she said hopefully.

Blaine shook his head. "Can I go see Kurt?"

Emma nodded and sighed, giving up.

* * *

><p>"Can I see him?" David asked.<p>

Santana shrugged. "You probably know him better than I do," she said, stepping aside. As David entered the room, he wondered if that was actually true. What did he know about Sebastian Smythe? Being the _fun_ Warbler meant that he was generally more trusted…except, it seemed, for the former captain of the Warblers. Certainly, he had no idea why there were bruises all over the boy's face.

"What the hell happened to you?" David winced at his own blunt tone, but Sebastian didn't seem to be bothered.

"I fought a bear and won," Sebastian snarked.

"Sebastian," David began helplessly, but he was pushed aside for an intimidating man dressed to the nines.

"Sebastian Smythe?" one of them said.

"That's me," the boy looked tired. He was clearly trying to look bored, but see, David was the _fun_ Warbler, and being the _fun_ Warbler meant that he had to pay attention. So now he could see that Sebastian was wearing a disguise. Had he always been wearing a disguise?

"You've been served," the man handed him some papers and left.

David waited until his heart left his throat to ask, "What are those?"

"I'm supposed to show up to court," Sebastian replied mockingly. His tone quickly became worried and he sat up straight, only to hiss as one had clamped onto his side. "Thanatos' widow is suing Pearl, but it wasn't her fault!"

"Does she have a lawyer?" David asked immediately. Screw just being the fun Warbler. He wanted to help too.

"Yeah, but I know this judge. She's pretty homophobic, and Pearl's lawyer is dating her ex-girlfriend," Sebastian sounded genuinely worried, and David realized belatedly that almost everything the former Warbler captain had said previously had been tinged with insincerity. Apparently, being the _fun_ Warbler didn't mean he was any wittier than anyone else.

"I think I can help you out," David said, uneasy. Sebastian always had a smirk on his face. And while this truly distressed face told David just how false that smarmy smile was, it was at least a smile.

Then Sebastian treated David to a real smile, smaller than normal, but real nonetheless. "Let's hear it," he said encouragingly.

David smiled back, quietly and quickly snatching Sebastian's phone off the bed and pocketing it.

* * *

><p>"Could you tell us how Mr. Thanatos died?" the prosecutor asked Sebastian.<p>

"He was hit in the back of the head with a camera," Sebastian responded.

"Did someone purposefully hit him with the camera?"

Sebastian swallowed. He hated having to incriminate one of the only two people who had helped him in his entire life. "Yes, but-"

"Permission to declare this witness as hostile?" asked the prosecutor.

"Permission granted." The prosecutor had chosen a judge who was very big on family values, despite not having a very large family of her own.

"Is the person who purposefully hit him in the courtroom with us right now?"

"Yes, but-"

"Could you point that person out to me?"

Sebastian pointed at Pearl.

"Let the record show that the witness has pointed to the defendant. No more questions, Your Honor."

Sherri West stood up. "So, Mr. Smythe, you saw what Miss Rush did to Mr. Thanatos in the basement of your house?"

"That's correct," Sebastian said, affecting a bored tone to hide his exhaustion and pain.

"Was there anyone else there who might have witnessed it?"

"Yes."

"That's funny," West responded. "There are no other witnesses on the list."

"That's because he was too out of it to witness anything."

"What do you mean by 'out of it?'"

"He was being raped and had his head repeatedly pushed down into a bathtub."

"Objection, Your Honor. Relevance?"

"I'm establishing my defense, Your Honor."

"Overruled. You may continue, Ms. West."

West walked directly in front of Sebastian. "Who was being raped?"

"Your client's son, Blaine."

"And who was raping him?"

"Mr. Thanatos," Sebastian's heart felt like a jackhammer in his chest.

"Tell me exactly what you saw my client do."

"I saw her yell at Mr. Thanatos to get off Blaine, and when he looked like he was going to hit Blaine, like, maybe to scare her, she grabbed the nearest object and smashed it into the back of his head."

"After that initial hit, did she do anything else to Mr. Thanatos?" West asked.

"No," Sebastian shook his head. "She went to her son and I went to my father."

"Thank you, Mr. Smythe. No more questions, Your Honor." West smiled.

Pearl's tearful testimony about how she was trying to protect her son sealed the deal, and she was let off from manslaughter charges. But Sebastian knew it wasn't over. In fact, even though Thanatos' widow had better lawyers, he knew he had only gotten a little taste of what was to come, for his father was planning to file his own lawsuit, and Sebastian could only wonder what that was going to be like.

David, for his part, wondered whether it was okay for the _fun_ Warbler to pull a stunt that involved theft and betrayal of hard-earned trust

* * *

><p><em>Next time, Blaine does not adjust to life in the Pillsbury-Schuester home and Nick goes to visit Sebastian.<em>


	9. Nick

_I completely forgot about this part: Sherri West was a prosecutor on L&O: SVU who eventually became a defense lawyer. "Mele" means "singer" in Hawaiian, where the actor who plays David is from, so I just made it his last name. "Piosenkarz" means "singer" in Polish, like the actor who plays Nick. And Curt Mega's wife did play a singer in the Golden Goblets._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Sherri West, the show she's from, nor Lenny Kravitz's song "Stand." But if you don't like them, I don't know what you're doing here._

* * *

><p>Chapter IX: Nick<p>

Kurt sang first at Dave's bedside.

_Come on, stand up again. Stand, you're gonna run again._

Blaine walked up behind Kurt and unexpectedly started to sing as well.

_Don't give you, you're gonna see tomorrow, that you'll be on your feet again._

Kurt reached for Blaine's hand and sang again.

_Some times the world's gonna knock you over, but you will see who are your friends._

The boys were unexpectedly wrapped up in each other as they sang together.

_Come on, stand up again. Come on, stand, stand, you're gonna run again._

Kurt started to sing again, Blaine joining him toward the end.

_Your faith and patience will be your soldiers, to guide you through your troubled times._

This time, Blaine started off alone, and Kurt joined him.

_Just put one foot in front of the other, the battle's all inside your mind._

They repeated this process for the next two lines.

_You have the power to face your demons, no matter how they go at times.  
>And rid yourself of your fear and weakness, so you can start to live your life.<em>

The boys started to sing togther.

_Come on, stand up again. Come on stand, stand, you're gonna run again._

"See Dave," Kurt said gently. "You can have something like this too," he gestured between his boyfriend and himself. "Never leave me again," Kurt demanded from Blaine as they kissed.

"I won't," Blaine promised. "Sebastian will never come between us again."

Just then, a familiar male nurse pushed Sebastian down to the room next door, having collapsed from complications due to his injuries.

"I have to go," Blaine said.

"Finish this song with me first!" Kurt begged.

"I'm sorry," Blaine apologized.

* * *

><p>David Mele was the <em>fun<em> Warbler, which was why the a capella group was so confused when he showed up to rehearsal completely somber and without a trace of a smile on his face.

"Is everything okay?" Thad asked.

David shook his head and took his place next to Thad. He felt the emptiness of the chair next to him, where Sebastian would usually sit, and sighed. "I have an announcement to make," he said. "Recently, it's come to my attention that Sebastian Smythe has been going through a hard time."

Nick snorted. "Right. He slushied one of our own, so it should be all _fun_ and games for him? He **deserves** to go through a hard time."

"Blaine's been going a hard time too," David reminded. "How does a person measure human misery? Who are **we** to say that someone deserves to be miserable?"

Nick shut up.

David looked at the Warblers until they all fell silent and looked back. Then he held up Sebastian's phone and played a message.

"Hello?" the pain in the voice was obvious.

"Sebastian, are you okay?" Blaine's voice asked.

The Warblers stared at David. "What's the point?" their eyes asked.

"Sebastian Smythe might not have been our best friend lately, but he's still a Warbler, a friend, and a fellow human being," David said. "He needs our help."

For a while, nobody spoke. David's heart sank, but only so far, because he was going to do this with or without anyone else's help. He was the _fun_ Warbler, so it was his job to make others feel better.

"I'm in," Nick said. Nick, the _responsible_ Warbler, the opposite of the fun Warbler, was willing to help. David smiled.

"Thank you, Senior Warbler Nick," David said.

Nick nodded. He needed to go see his girlfriend in the hospital anyway. Laryngitis, nothing serious—she had just strained her voice with the Golden Goblets. He could go slushie someone if he had to. It would serve the boy right for tricking him into buying a second slushie for Santana, thinking it was going to be a peace offering.

Then he actually walked into Sebastian's room.

* * *

><p>Blaine looked up and his heart leapt to his throat. "What's wrong?" he asked. Emma and Will had their arms crossed in front of him.<p>

"Blaine, I'm afraid there's some bad news," Emma said. "Mrs. Thanatos is suing Pearl for her husband's death."

Blaine's brow wrinkled in confusion. "I thought they already did that?"

"The state pressed charges, yes, but unless you bring forward charges on Mr. Thanatos for rape, there's no evidence that she was defending anybody," Will said uncomfortably.

"She wasn't," Blaine's voice was hard. "Mr. Thanatos stopped the second he saw her raise the camera. That broken hand Pearl said happened when he fell? That because he held it up to protect himself."

Emma and Will looked at each other in horror. "So, what you're saying is…Pearl killed a man who was retreating?" Emma asked slowly.

Blaine sighed. "Yes."

"Are you sure she didn't just mistake him holding up his hand to hit you and scare her into dropping the camera?" Will asked.

Blaine stopped. "I didn't think of that," he admitted.

But the Pillsburys and the Schuester still looked uneasy that night.

* * *

><p>"Holy crap, man," Nick blinked in surprise. "Dude, what happened to you?" he sat down uneasily in a chair next to Sebastian. His elbow kept bumping into the armrest, and when he looked he remembered he had a slushie in his hand.<p>

"I thought this was coming," Nick winced at how dead Sebastian's voice was. "Well, come on, let's get this over with. Take as many pictures as you want, then I'll call the nurse and say I spilled my friend's present in my face."

"If I'm going to give you a slushie, it won't be this one anymore," Nick said, dropping it in the trashcan.

"Did you put rock salt in it?" Sebastian asked sarcastically.

"Battery acid," Nick answered. "A couple of the guys decided you're too pretty."

Sebastian laughed. "Always too pretty," he muttered.

"Seriously, man, what happened here?" Nick gestured.

"Why don't you ask her?" Sebastian nodded his chin at the waiting room outside. There was only one woman sitting, arms and legs crossed in possibly the most defensive gesture Nick had ever seen. "She hasn't left at all," Sebastian sounded curious. "I have no idea why."

Nick got up and slowly walked to the woman. He knew Blaine's mother, but why wasn't she with Blaine?

"Um, Ms. Rush? It's Nick, Nick Piosenkarz, from the Warblers. How are you?" he asked awkwardly, not sure how to address that wounded face in front of him.

"I'm waiting for the one person whom I actually have a right to demand to speak to agrees to speak to me," Pearl said acidly.

"Oh," Nick nodded. "Um, well, why are you here? I mean, shouldn't Blaine be with you?"

She looked away, as if her son's name was physically painful to hear. "Blaine wants nothing to do with me," she said. "He was in the room when I killed Thanatos, and he saw me try to strangle Damon. He's scared of me, so I let Emma and Will take custody of him."

"Really?" Nick was shocked. "Then wait, why are you waiting for Sebastian to wake up?"

Pearl glared at him. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him. It's not his fault, but I'm still unbelievably pissed at him."

Suddenly, Nick laughed. "You feel _responsible_ for him!"

Pearl shrugged. "Go back inside," she insisted. "You're the first boy he's spoken to, except for that Hawaiian guy, and Santana won't be coming in until 3:00."

Nick went back into the room, still laughing. He sat down next to Sebastian again and asked about the woman outside.

Sebastian shrugged. "I don't know what she's doing out there. I told her she should leave, but she never does. I'm hoping that if I don't let her in, she'll leave eventually. I mean, doesn't she have a job or something?"

"She's high up enough that if she wants a transfer, the Director of the FBI grants it to her," Nick reminded Sebastian. "I'm sure she can get a day off."

"Yeah, but then there's that Spanish girl."

"What Spanish girl?" Nick's dick twitched in interest.

"Down, boy," Sebastian muttered. Nick blushed, but Sebastian didn't even look at him.

"How can you be gay and still get more hot chicks flocking around your deathbed than me?" Nick whined.

Sebastian snickered. "I guess I'm just more awesome." He accompanied the Barney Stinson-like comment with a matching wink.

"Maybe," Nick grinned. "I'm glad I made you smile, dude. You look like you needed it."

"I did," Sebastian smiled. Nick was taken aback. His eyes were clouded by painkillers, but they were far more open than they had ever been before. Nick wondered why he had never noticed how hidden Sebastian had been.

"Hey, dude, where are you going once you get out of here?" Nick asked.

Sebastian's smile was barely gone before a falsely cocky one replaced it. "I have half a dozen people around all just waiting for me."

"Right," Nick said dubiously. "Maybe you could stay with that Spanish chick you talked about," he suggested.

Sebastian shook his head. "I know her family. They can't afford to support me."

"Well, where are you going to go then?" Nick asked again.

"He's 17," Pearl said. "At 16, you can apply for legal emancipation in Ohio. After that, he'll get his father's house when he gets arrested, if he doesn't actively try to screw with you first, which he undoubtedly will."

"What are you talking about?" Nick asked.

Pearl snickered. "What, you didn't wonder why he's in the hospital?" she asked mockingly, snickering again at Nick's horrified expression.

"Stop it!" Sebastian yelled at her. "You're becoming me!"

"Well, it turns out you're right. Nobody can do anything good, and when they try, they get screwed over," Pearl stormed out as Santana strolled in.

"What's got her panties in a twist?" she asked, dumping some bandages down.

"Blaine won't live with her because he's scared of her."

Santana snorted. "For saving his life?"

"She killed someone," Blaine said from behind them. "Sorry, I just came in to see how you were doing," he said when they all jumped.

"I don't know what's wrong with you," Sebastian said. "I mean, she saved your life. There was no other way to do it, right?"

"She's the one who's always telling me that violence isn't the solution," Blaine snapped.

Santana rolled her eyes. "Sometimes, hobbit, you've got to fight fire with fire."

"I can't," Blaine whispered. "I can't look at her and think that she's going to throw it all away for me. She was almost arrested yesterday, Sebastian, and who knows how many prisoners in Ohio are only there because she put them there? She'd be slaughtered, Sebastian!"

"Remember when you broke up with Kurt because you were afraid I'd hurt him?"

"Yes," Blaine grumbled. He was definitely unhappy that Sebastian had brought that up.

"Well, seeing as he's outside waiting for you and giving me the stink-eye, you two are back together, and I'm guessing he initiated it, didn't he?"

Blaine nodded, but raised his head defiantly. "If I thought you might still be a threat, Sebastian, I wouldn't hesitate. I would hurt you."

Sebastian shrugged. "Sure," he said, "but you're just making a lot of people miserable."

"Should I go?" Nick asked, seeing Santana getting red in the face with anger.

"Definitely," the Latina growled. Nick practically ran out of the room before the shouting started. He felt incredibly uneasy, but that feeling soon gave way to scheming. He was the _responsible_ Warbler. He would do something.

* * *

><p>"Blaine?" Emma walked into Blaine Pillsbury's room. "Blaine, are you alright?"<p>

He nodded lifelessly.

"Oh, Blaine," Emma hugged him. "You know we're not going to hurt you, right?"

"Pearl never hurt me," Blaine sniffed. "She just scared me.

"You need an environment where you feel safe, Blaine," Emma said carefully. "That's why Ms. Rush agreed to hand over custody."

"But she's tried so hard, and now I left," Blaine said.

"You are her first priority, Blaine," Emma reminded the boy. "And now you're my first priority. We're all going to do what's best for you, no matter what."

Blaine nodded and stopped his tears. Emma kissed him on the forehead, pleased. But when she left to turn the light off and close the door, they started again. "That's exactly what I was afraid of," Blaine whispered.

* * *

><p>"Oh, great," Finn glared up at the sky. "It's raining."<p>

"It's red," Rachel's eyes widened.

"Red rain?" Carole walked out. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know," Rachel said, just before she threw up into the sink.

"Are you okay?" Finn asked as Carole started to clean the sink

"I feel like I might have accidentally eaten meat," Rachel said.

Finn blushed. "Um, Rachel, about that dinner a few days ago-"

Rachel gasped in horror. "You didn't!" she covered her mouth, sickened, and ran away.

"Rachel, wait! I didn't do it on purpose!" Finn called. "Rachel!"

Carole wondered what they were talking about. She stopped buying real meat and started buying the brands of synthetic meat Rachel recommended after Kurt said it was healthier and she realized that Burt and Finn couldn't actually taste the difference. There was no way Rachel could be sick from eating real meat.

* * *

><p><em>For those who are confused, Blaine left Pearl because a) he feels weird about her killing someone and b) he feels weirder that it's for him. He's already seen Kurt kill somebody for him, and he's a little worried that he inspires such violence in people.<em>

_Next time, Sebastian moves in with the female you all KNEW he was moving in with._


	10. Jeff

_This should tie up a lot of loose ends and introduce the sequel (not sure if I want it to be a sequel or an unrelated story)._

_Skinner's Cattleya is a flower commonly used in Mother's Day bouquets to the aforementioned mother. And Riker Lynch (the guy who plays Jeff) has admitted to having a crush on Dianna Agron (the girl who plays Quinn) so Jeff's girlfriend is named Diane._

* * *

><p>Chapter XI: Jeff<p>

"Can you explain to the court what you mean by that?" Marlowe asked.

Sebastian swallowed a sob and began to speak with dry eyes about his life.

* * *

><p><em>I guess it started when I was ten. I was a pretty scrawny kid, so other kids, like, bigger kids, picked on me a lot. I had this thing called Wilson Disease, when your body can't process copper. Eventually, I needed a liver transplant. My dad couldn't afford it because he gambles away everything he makes from the chemical processing plant, so he started making porn films, and when he realized he'd get more money by making kiddie porn instead of other things, he decided that I should earn my keep, and put me in them.<em>

* * *

><p>"Objection!" the defense cried. "This is prepostrous, Your Honor."<p>

Marlowe shot him a look of such venom that he sat down and shut up before the judge could even bother overruling him.

* * *

><p><em>After a while, I think when I was, like, fifteen, I realized that he wouldn't need me if some other kid was in them, so I'd go out and try to seduce other kids. Usually, they'd be too drunk to notice that it wasn't me, but then I met Blaine, and he was nice, so I couldn't do that to him. I told him to get out of there, but he came in and got me out instead. That's how we both got so badly injured; I was trying to take his place, but he wouldn't let me.<em>

_...he was nice like that. My dad wasn't. Dad took him in anyway, and made him do...things. I'm sure Blaine's already told you._

* * *

><p>"No more questions, Your Honor," Marlowe shot one more contemptuous look at Damon before sitting down.<p>

* * *

><p>"So, how are you feeling?" Pearl asked carefully during the drive back to her house.<p>

Sebastian shrugged. "Relieved that it's over," he said. He caught sight of Pearl's guilty look and a pit of nausea formed in his stomach. "What?" he asked.

"Sebastian, you still have to be cross-examined by the defense."

Sebastian nearly threw up. "So, what, he's going to blow holes in my story, make me look like a whore who doesn't care about other people? Because he's right. I didn't care about people until I met Blaine."

"Your father's already been charged with this once," Pearl said. "Ohio allows previous arrest records to be submitted into court as evidence."

Sebastian shrugged. "I guess so," he said. Just then, the doorbell rang.

Pearl suddenly laughed with delight. "A long time ago, another boy said that, and his life has…well, I hope it's gotten better."

* * *

><p>Jeremiah looked at the car that passed by. The driver looked just like the woman who had tried to help him get his job at the GAP back, citing discrimination laws, but only succeeded in getting that GAP closed. He figured she was some famous lawyer or something, since she knew all those laws and she was driving from a courthouse with that really cute boy in the backseat. Were they related? Their eyes were a bit similar.<p>

Strangely, she looked a little bit younger now than she had been when she talked Principal Figgins into giving him a job as the new cooking teacher after the old one retired. All she had said was that she wanted the next generation to be able to make a good pate, but the even if Jeremiah hadn't seen the number on the check she handed to Figgins, he saw the principal's expression and he was hired right away.

* * *

><p>"Jeff!" Blaine smiled at his friend. The blond seemed to have been waiting for him by the door and stuck around after the other Warblers had gone.<p>

"I need to talk to you," Jeff said hesitantly.

"Sure," Blaine agreed pleasantly, if curiously. He walked out with Jeff and the blond boy pulled out the note Blaine had tossed outside the courtroom like it was trash.

"Blaine, are you happy?" Jeff asked.

Blaine forced a smile. "Of course," he said.

Jeff shook his head and put an arm on Blaine's shoulder. "Blaine, for almost your entire life, you were treated like a slave. Actually, screw that, you were a slave. And then this woman comes along and gives you an out, and you act like you're dangerous to her, which no one can blame you for, but seriously, dropping her just like that is kind of a dickish move."

"She killed someone," Blaine whispered.

"For you," Jeff reminded the boy. "She loves you. She just wanted to protect you."

"Well, at some point, it went from protecting to taking revenge against," Blaine said.

"What did you expect? She's only human. I mean, nobody's perfect," Jeff shrugged. "And hey, I'd say that Thanatos guy had it coming."

Blaine smiled. "I guess you're right," he said.

"I know I am. Why else would you have bought Skinner's Cattaleya?" Jeff winked.

Blaine laughed quietly and drove to Pearl's house.

* * *

><p>"Do you trust me?" Sebastian asked Pearl one night.<p>

Pearl blinked and was silent, which was just as good as an answer. Sebastian slammed his spoon in his bowl and stalked out with Pearl following.

"Sebastian, please, I think you're a good person," she said hurriedly behind him.

"Then why the hell don't you trust me?" Sebastian demanded.

Pearl only hesitated a second before answering. "I look at you and I see potential, but I look at Blaine and I see love and my son. I know that he won't be able to live secure in the same house as someone who sexually assaulted him, and I keep hoping he's going to just randomly turn up at the door. When he does, if he does, I have to come up with a good reason why you're here," the young woman muttered.

Sebastian turned away. "I don't want to be your charity project, okay? I'm not Blaine, and I'm not as good as he is!" In his head, Blaine and Pearl were the most caring people he'd ever known, and probably the bravest. They deserved each other, and Sebastian deserved nothing. He ran away from the house. Pearl chased after him, but didn't get very far before Jeremiah's jeep rolled around.

"A little songbird told me you'd be here," Jeremiah smiled, opening his door.

"Thanks," Sebastian said, climbing in. "You cut your hair."

"Yeah," Jeremiah smiled awkwardly, "it was for the girlfriend."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious? Girlfriend, you?"

Jeremiah blushed. "No one knows I'm gay, okay?"

"You might want to tell your girlfriend soon," Sebastian said.

"Why's that?" Jeremiah asked.

"Because I'm about to blow your mind," Sebastian answered just before leaning in to kiss the blond driver.

* * *

><p>Diana knew Jeremiah was gay. Her good friend Jeff had told her enough about the GAP fiasco to know who the poor (formerly) fired worker was. But when she approached him to apologize about her boss, he asked her out on a date, during which he treated her more like a sister than a girlfriend. She shared this over ice cream with Jeff later.<p>

"I mean, come on. He called my dress 'exquisite,' and knew more about the fabric than I did," Diana laughed. "Can you believe that?"

"I can actually. He got the GAP job for a reason," Jeff reminded her.

Diana grew somber. "How's Blaine doing?" she asked.

"Well, he sang a song with us a couple days ago," Jeff answered. "I think he's forgiven us and we might be friends now, again."

Diana breathed a sigh of relief. "It wasn't right for you guys to be separated, you know?"

"Especially over something as stupid as a slushie," Jeff nodded.

"Or Sebastian," Diana reminded him.

"And rock salt," Jeff added.

Diana held up her cinnamon latte. "To rock salt," she said.

"To our friends, who are like the salt of the earth to us," Jeff grabbed his cardboard cup, but it was empty.

Diana summoned a barista. "One medium black tea with two sugars and a cream, please," she asked. When she turned back to Jeff, he looked impressed.

"You know my drink order," Jeff reached into his pocket under the table.

"Of course I do," Diana said. "And put your wallet away. I'm paying."

Jeff chuckled and obeyed.

* * *

><p>Sebastian couldn't believe who he was looking at. Tyler, JP, Jon, and Jake were standing in front of him. "They all came forward to press charges against me and my dad?"<p>

"They can't press charges against you," Marlowe spoke reassuringly. "You were a minor then. You still are."

"He's emancipated, though," Pearl frowned. "According to the state, he's responsible for his actions."

"Only since you had him file for emancipation a few weeks ago," Marlowe argued.

"That's not what the court will see," Pearl's comforting hand disappeared from Sebastian's shoulder and she crossed her arms. "The emancipation process isn't complete yet. Besides, I've worked with you for a long time, so I know you're good, but I don't know if you can handle this."

"I can handle this," Marlowe said calmly. "Relax. It can't end that badly," she said, hand fumbling for the doorknob.

Pearl's brow furrowed; she knew Marlowe wasn't talking about the trial, but what was she talking ab-"Blaine!"

Sure enough, the boy walked nervously in. "Hi, Mother."

Pearl's hand was back on Sebastian's shoulder, but this time it was so she could stay upright as her legs gave out under her. "Blaine, I am so sorry!"

"No, you're not," Blaine looked disgusted.

Pearl looked at him for a while before saying, "You're right, I'm not, but I could **fake** being sorry."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Don't," he said. "I know you did it for me, and believe me, I'm grateful for what you tried to do. But really, Mother, you're the one who told me that revenge and vigilantism is never the answer, and then you went head and did that."

"What are you guys talking about?" Marlowe asked, alarmed.

"Double jeopardy!" both boys said at once. "You can't charge her again."

Marlowe looked at the boys and sighed. "I understand that you two have a warped sense of justice, but **you**!" she whirled around and pointed an angry finger at Pearl. "From now on, I want you to stay away from me." With that, she left the room.

The tension was unbearable as the boys watched Pearl's reaction.

She smiled. "Who feels like an ice cream soda?"

* * *

><p>"Hello everyone, and welcome to Good Morning Lima. I'm your host, Rod Remington, and boy have we got news for you!"<p>

The camera angle switched and Rod faced one off to the side. "Well, folks, it seems that Ohio has been bit by a bug. A flu bug, that is. Hundreds of people are reporting stomachaches, headaches, stiff joints, and nausea. We're not sure what this recent illness is, but be sure that all of us here at GML will bring you the latest ways to keep you and your family safe!"

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you're okay?" Nick asked Jeff, who was currently bent over a toilet.<p>

"As soon as this stupid stomach flu goes away, I will," Jeff groaned. "Why are you here? Where's my girlfriend?"

"Diane? Oh, she says she has a headache, and that it's probably the same thing you've got," Nick said cheerfully.

Jeff groaned again and laid down on the cool linoleum.

"Uh, no," Nick gently picked Jeff up. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

Jeff murmured his assent and when he opened his eyes, he was staring out his window at Sebastian's house across the street. "Hey, are they moving?" he asked Nick.

Nick looked out the window. "Um, I don't know. David said they're after Mr. Smythe's financial records or something."

"Huh," Jeff had stopped paying attention long ago, already fast asleep.

* * *

><p>Sebastian couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're telling me that my father's pleading guilty?"<p>

Marlowe nodded. "You might also want to look at his will," she said, showing it to Sebastian. "Of course, there are restrictions, but for the most part, it's all yours."

Sebastian's eyes were wide. His father had left everything—hugely-successful company, unbelievably huge fortune, and large, furnished mansion—to his son. Of course, he had also inherited his father's massive gambling debt, but still, he was provided for. "This can't possibly be my dad who wrote this," he told Marlowe. "He wouldn't care about me."

"Well, unless he has a different son named Sebastian Smythe, you are definitely the heir to his…considerable estate," Marlowe said.

"Thanks," Sebastian said honestly.

Marlowe smiled maternally. "Anytime, kid. Now, get out of my office," she said teasingly.

Sebastian nodded, and as the door closed, sealing him from who he used to be, he had only one person in his mind. He walked out of the building and dialed.

"Hey, Pearl, can you drop me off at Jeremiah's house? I have something I need to tell him," Sebastian said, looking at the window of The Law Offices of Marlowe, Payne, and Fears, thinking of all the jokes he could tell the blond boy.

He was so busy daydreaming that he barely noticed Pearl come driving up with a stack of papers on the seat next to her. Sebastian picked them up and sat down, looking through them as she drove.

"They're your emancipation papers," she explained. "I visited the prison while you were gone and had him sign them."

"How'd you convince him?" Sebastian asked, wanting to hear that one person didn't want to give him up easily.

Pearl bit her lip. All she had to do was threaten Damon with a brief peek into his financial records. "Admit it, Damon," she had said, "you pled guilty the moment your lawyer agreed to that. You've got some money to hide." Damon had caved in immediately, and her heart sank for the boy whose father had never seen him as anything other than a source of income.

"With difficulty," she said finally, pulling up to Jeremiah's driveway.

Sebastian nodded, accepting the lie, and waved at Jeremiah.

Jeremiah waved back. "Haven't I seen you before?" he asked Pearl.

Pearl groaned, which Sebastian found immensely funny as he stepped out into the brilliant sunshine…and found the Warblers, Sam, Kurt, Wes, and Blaine included.

He began to sing with the Warblers, grinning widely.

_(Come on!) Come on, stand (Come on baby!) up again  
>(Stand yeah!) Come on, stand (You can, baby!) Stand, you're gonna run again.<em>

The Warblers—Trent, Wes, Kurt, Sam, Blaine, David, Nick, and Jeff—ran forward and hugged their beloved singer.

_Pick up your will and put on your face (and put on your face)  
>If you need to, just take my hand (take my hand)<br>It's time to demonstrate, don't hesitate (don't hesitate)  
>Just get up and say, "Yes I can!" (Yes I can!)<em>

Pearl drove away, letting the boys all dance for Jeremiah. She had work to do, but maybe she'd stay behind and watch what would happen if Jeremiah was serenaded a second time.

_Come on, stand (Come on baby!) up again (Stand yeah!)  
>Come on, stand (Come on, you can, baby!)<br>Stand, you're gonna run again (Stand, you're gonna run again).  
>Come on, stand (Oh stand yeah!) up again (Stand up again!)<br>Come on, stand, (Oh, come on baby!)  
>Stand, you're gonna run again (Stand, stand!)<br>Stand, you're gonna run again (Come on!)  
>Stand, you're gonna run again (Gonna run again!)<em>

Jeremiah pulled Sebastian forward and kissed him.

* * *

><p><em>Yup, this is the last chapter, because I've run out of named Warblers. Finn was included because I needed that apology and closure, Sam said he used to go to an all-boys school, so in my headcanon, he went to Dalton and we all know how much he loves to sing, so I made him a Warbler. And just because Wes left doesn't mean he's not still one of our dear blazer-clad boys.<em>

_Keep your eyes out for the sequel, which will explain why everyone is getting so sick, and you'll get a bit more _Criminal Minds_, because I just freaking love that show!_


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